Ally with Monster Side Stories and other Shenanigans
by Miki-chan13
Summary: We live in a world where death is so common, little else is few and far between. And why wouldn't it be, considering we fight buck-naked, man-eating giants with the help of bizarre creatures that can resemble humans, animals, objects and even food. But here, at least, can you see more than the constant war we must fight. Discontinued until further notice.
1. Side story: Welcome to the family

When Becquerel heard the news, he didn't know how to feel.

His Grisha, his partner and friend, was going to be a father and this baby would be his and Carla's first-born. They both looked so happy when they looked at her belly but all Becquerel could feel was... apprehension.

Already, five months had passed by like no time at all and Carla's belly was swelling up to accommodate the baby. They had also decided on the name of the child; if it was female, Tanya. If it was male, Eren.

He knew it wasn't right, but Becquerel couldn't help the surge of apprehension and jealousy as he saw Grisha look at Carla's belly. It was selfish of him, so utterly selfish, but the Absol couldn't help it.

**Grisha, how exactly will this work out?**

Grisha glanced up from where he was sitting at the table, examining a pale blue egg. It had been a gift from a client who didn't have enough money to pay for Grisha healing his partner; he had found it in the mountains in Wall Rose. However, it had been quite a bit of trouble getting it registered but the soldier had been a lot of help.

"Well, a human spends around nine months in the mother's womb before it comes out," Grisha explained as he gently rubbed a cold, wet rag over the shell. "During that time, the baby grows and the mother's belly expands to accommodate them-"

**I mean, what will happen when the baby is born?** Becquerel interjected. **You already told me about how female humans give birth and held their children before.**

Grisha gave a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I'm still not sure what exactly you mean."

Becquerel's fangs gritted together angrily as he barked out, "**Will you still be my partner after that child is born?!"**

Grisha looked startled as his partner slipped back into his language, yet he understood what he was asking nonetheless. "Becquerel..."

The Absol turned away, his expression ashamed and frustrated; he can't feel like this, not toward Grisha and his family, but-!

Becquerel heard Grisha's chair scrape against the floor as the man got up and walked over to his side and knelt in front of the Pokemon before embracing him, his expression solemn and serious. "You are my most trusted friend and partner. I would never abandon, forget, or neglect you."

**But...**

"Who says I can't be with you both?"

The doctor's hand gently reached out and stroked alongside Becquerel's back, just the way that would relax the Absol. His blood-red eyes closed and he let out a sigh. _That's right; I acted this way when I found out he was going to marry Carla, didn't I...?_

He was a hypocrite; Becquerel had had children with other Pokemon before but they had all died before him, both his mates and his children. He outlived them all. He had more experience with fatherhood than Grisha and here he was, acting like a brat when his dear friend might, no, would need him...!

"I never forgot you when I married Carla and she became your friend as well, and the three of us became a true family," Grisha continued. "When our child is born and that egg hatches they'll become apart of this family as well."

His eyes opened at that, expression now calmer and solemn. **I'm sorry, Grisha. I really am.**

"I'm sorry too; I didn't realize you had these doubts and fears for so long," the doctor replied as well, his expression becoming pained. "What kind of partner am I to not understand when you're in distress? If I were to forget you..."

Becquerel said nothing to that. Pokemon that weren't with humans as partners or in the military, were considered second-class. Though they weren't animals or titans, neither were they human or perceived as such. Even though many, many humans cared for and treated Pokemon with respect and dignity, human lives were still worth more than them in most cases, save for those that call for power.

_Even so..._

* * *

"Ngh-!"

"Come on, you have to keep pushing, Carla!"

Tears trickled down Carla's face as her hands gripped the sheets bunding her palms, her legs spasming. Grisha kept his hands positioned between her legs as she followed his instructions, trying to push out the child. Becquerel set towels around her body to soak up the blood and water.

He knew what was coming as Grisha explained it to him, but nothing could have prepared Becquerel for the birthing process. The smells were making his throat constrict as he tried to swallow down bile, the screams were making his skin crawl and his fur stand up on end, and he couldn't look at Grisha now, he couldn't look at the desperation and determination on his face.

"Carla, you're doing great; keep it up!"

"I-I- _Auuggghhhh_!"

The last cry gained pitch and turned to a shout as Carla's fingernails dug through the cloth and into her skin, drawing blood. Becquerel couldn't stand it as he snapped out, **"Isn't there anything else we can do for her?!"** even though he knew Grisha couldn't understand him right now.

"Almost-! You've almost got it, Carla! You can do it!" Grisha urged her on, his voice shaking despite him trying to keep calm.

Carla suddenly let out a drawn scream as her entire body spasmed and the towels and sheets became more soaked.

Then, crying pierced the space.

The Absol's eyes widened as he saw Grisha clutch a tiny bundle inside the blanket to him, a thin strand hanging from the table by him with a slightly bloodied knife. Tears were freely streaming down his face as he looked at the child before he passed it to Carla. She looked so exhausted but so utterly relieved as she took the child and cradled it in her arms.

"It's a boy," Grisha rasped. "It's a boy."

Carla nodded, her cheeks tear-stained as she beamed at the newborn boy before turned to Becquerel. "Come see."

The Absol blinked before he approached tentatively to her bedside and stretched up to look at the bundle. The boy's eyes were squeezed shut tightly, his mouth slightly open, revealing pink gums. Sparse brown hair, the same shade as Grisha's, covered a bit of his scalp. His skin was still tender and pink and damp.

He looked back at Carla with a tentative gaze. **May I?**

She nodded kindly. "Go ahead."

The Absol leaned forward carefully and gently nudged the boy with his nose. A sweet, pure scent filled his nostrils, not unlike that from a baby Pokemon. A smile spread on his lips and Becquerel leaned in further and gently nuzzled the tiny baby but careful not to let his horn touch him. Grisha came over to them and the three of them took in the sight of the new life they had been waiting to meet for nearly a year.

_"Uh..."_

The Absol froze at the tiny noise before withdrawing. The baby seemed to be fidgeting slightly before his eyes opened up. Becquerel was frozen where he was as the most vivid and brilliant green imaginable stared back at him. The tiny boy gurgled a bit, a smile on his face.

Becquerel loved him.

**"It's nice to meet you... ****Eren."**

* * *

A short giggle came out.

Eren was gripping Becquerel's white fur in a grubby little hand from where Carla was holding him at the table as she finished nursing him. It seemed the tiny boy couldn't get enough of feeling the Absol's body parts in his hands, though Becquerel was very careful not to let Eren touch his horn of claws or anything below his tail.

"Hey come on now, Eren," Carla said, gently prying his hand off Becquerel's fur, "you'll pull out all of Bec's fur if you keep doing that."

However, as soon as Eren realized he couldn't feel the Absol's fur anymore, his lips trembled and his eyes filled with tears. Becquerel perched himself closer to the boy and gently licked his cheek. Eren blinked at him a little as the tears stopped and he let the little boy grip his fur again.

**It's okay,** Becquerel said as he saw Carla shake her head at them both.** He'll grow out of it eventually, or else I'll tell him otherwise.**

Carla chuckled at that. A moment later, the door slammed open, Grisha holding the egg in his arms. The object was shuddering and cracks were appearing across the shell like lightning.

Grisha wordlessly took his jacket off and set it on the floor before gently putting the egg on it and grabbing one of the dish towels from the counter with no time to waste. Carla and Becquerel came over by him as Grisha took out his medical supplies and laid them on the floor.

About a minute later, the egg had completely hatched and a tiny Pokemon covered in egg goo was sitting on the coat. It's body was completely black with pale blue orbs for eyes, a wide toothy mouth and an orange triangular cloak over it's figure.

Eren let out an exclamation as he reached out to the newborn Pokemon, eyes wide with wonder and his mouth in an open-mouthed, excited smile. Becquerel was also interested in the little one; he had yet to see this Pokemon before and he had already seen many.

"It's called a Snorunt," Grisha explained as he cleaned the creature off before examining it carefully, "and it's female."

The little Snorunt looked around curiously, eyes wide as she took in the very first sights of her life before her eyes settled on the three humans and Pokemon before her. Eren tried to reach out to the Snorunt again, making tiny "Eh-eh" noises as Grisha made sure she was cleaned off and warm as she would be able to stand. The doctor smiled softly as he gently took the newborn Pokemon into his arms wrapped in the coat and moved over to Carla's side so the two children could see each other properly.

The Snorunt looked at Eren as curiously as the boy looked at her. Her mouth then turned into a smile and she gave a little exclamation as she reached out to the boy as well. Becquerel couldn't keep the smile off his face, the scene was just too heartwarmingly adorable.

"Well, it looks like we have another child now," Carla said with a chuckle as Eren tried to grab the Snorunt's cloak.

Becquerel looked up at the little one. The Snorunt seemed to notice him and she peered down at the Absol with wide eyes before giving a happy babble at him.

**"Hello,"** he greeted back with a gentle smile.

**"'lo!"** she parroted back with a grin.

Eren tried to echo their replies with glee, making Carla and Grisha chuckle. A second later, the Snorunt's suddenly sneezed, icy air coming from her mouth and freezing part of Becquerel's fur, making the Absol blink incredulously.

The tiny boy laughed out loud and the Snorunt joined him before Carla and even Grisha let out a chuckle as well. Becquerel swiftly shook the frost off his fur; even he unable to keep the smile off his face.

"Little one," Carla said gently to the Snorunt, "what do you think of the name 'Tanya'?"

The Snorunt blinked before she laughed. Carla smiled. "I guess that's a 'yes'."

Tanya laughed again before Eren touched her cloak, eyes wide with delight. Grisha and Carla then both knelt down so that Becquerel could look at the two children properly. Eren's other hand reached out and grabbed Becquerel's fur once more in his fist, grinning happily. Tanya also reached out and grabbed at the Absol's cheek, an identical grin on her face.

* * *

"Bec... I can't turn into a cheese."

Eren laughed and Becquerel tried to keep from smiling at the incredulous look on Mikasa Ackerman's face. The brunet was trying to teach the newest addition to their family the poke-code that Grisha had Eren learn at an early age. However, the ravenette was having a much harder time with it than Eren did.

"He was- he was saying that he thinks that it's gonna warm tomorrow!" the brunet rasped out. "I don't even know how you got so off!"

Mikasa scowled at that, her face pink she muttered, "This is ridiculous; you can just tell me what he's saying, can't you?"

Eren shook his head at that. "You gotta learn how to understand them too, Mikasa! What if me, mom, or dad aren't around to translate Bec of Tanya for you?"

"That won't happen," Mikasa said simply, gripping at Eren's sleeve with a solemn but rigid look. "You'll always be here, always."

The brunet stopped at that before his expression softer. Becquerel and Tanya looked back at one another; it wasn't that long ago that the young girl had been taken into the Jaeger household and since then, they had all been trying to make her feel safe and welcome.

But the scars were there to stay.

"Here."

Eren took out the papers that Grisha had given him earlier and spread them out for Mikasa to see. "See? That means..."

**"She doesn't have anything to worry about,"** Tanya said in a soft voice. **"We'll always be together, all six of us, no matter what."**

**"Yeah..."**

* * *

I have a bad feeling this entire chapter might get jossed as the series continues, or it might be that Becquerel has faulty memory, but for now, you can enjoy this and many more chapters to come.

On a side not, I think Eren's eyes are my favorite color; I mean, green's been my favorite color for forever now, but the green the anime uses- damn, is it_ gorgeous_.

Length will vary for these segments.


	2. Side story: Visit the grave

The moon was shinning silver white in the night sky, not even the clouds could hide it. All was quiet in the walls, even the titans couldn't disturb it.

Two figures walked/ flew down towards a rather tall tower, erected in the town square. It had a forebodingly solemnness that draped over it. The first that was walking gently eased open the giant double doors, revealing several graves erected.

From the sparse light, the figures were revealed, if there was anybody to witness, a Dragonite and a Gallade.

**"So..."**

_"Her grave is on the third floor,"_ Mitternacht said in a low voice. _"Hers is on the fifth."_

**"Got it,"** Donovan said, before waving good-bye and heading up the stairs.

Donovan climbed up higher and higher, careful not to disturb any of the graves. It had taken him years to get some semblance of spatial awareness after his evolution and was he thankful for it now.

Finally, he got the floor that Mitternacht directed him to and his dark grey eyes roamed over the gravestones until he found the one. He flew over in front of it, his wings lessening before he remembered-

**_"ShitshitSHIT!"_** Donovan rasped as he flapped his wings up more to keep his full weight off the floor, nearly smacking his head on the ceiling as a result before going back to his original stance.

Oh, one of the many disadvantages to being over a thousand pounds in body mass/ weight; while this easily allowed him to act as the raging, badass motherfucker he was on the battlefield, it wasn't so much fun when he was constantly trying NOT to destroy floors, or walls, or other miscellaneous objects.

**"Geez, boss is kinda right about me, wasn't he?"** Donovan groused as he remembered his partner.

* * *

Mitternacht fought back a grimace as he walked up the stairs carefully. This was a terrible idea, not to mention an invasion of privacy of the worst kind. But he had to have this.

Finally, he reached the fifth floor and Mitternacht's eyes roamed over the gravestones until he found the one.

_"Hello."_

* * *

**"Uh... hey,"** Donovan muttered.

His words echoed in the space before it became silent again. The Dragonite let a nervous chuckle out. **"This is kinda weird, to me at least."**

* * *

_"This sort of thing is what humans do when they visit their deceased, isn't it?"_ Mitternacht said before giving a tiny, embarrassed smile. _"But it's just feels so odd; why would I talk to stone?"_

* * *

**"Maybe it's just a human thing? Maybe 'cause they don't wanna forget?"**

* * *

_"That could be the case."_

* * *

Donovan gave another nervous laugh before his expression grew solemn.** "Ya know, there's a reason why I'm here by myself, 'cept for 'Nacht."**

* * *

Mitternacht's expression grew saddened. _"You understand, yes? Why I couldn't ask my partner to bring me here."_

* * *

**"He doesn't talk 'bout you t' me, ever,"** Donovan said, his voice growing sadder. **"But I know he thinks 'bout ya. He could never forget 'bout ya, but he feels like he's gotta put ya to the back of his head. It's gotta hurt him, tho'; you guys were partners for way longer than I was with him."**

* * *

_"He talks of you sometimes,"_ Mitternacht said, frowning. _"He regrets it, you know. He regrets the time you two had and how he spent it with you, after 'everything you put up with', as he described it. I feel ashamed that I've been his partner longer than you."_

* * *

**"I dunno if I should be jealous of the bond you two had before I came 'long,"** the Dragonite went on. **"I know that he has some kinda value fer me, but he's never gonna open up to me the same way he was open to you."**

* * *

_"It's unfair, I think, that the two of you never opened up to one another,"_ the Gallade continued. _"You were his very first partner and even if you weren't compatible, that didn't mean you couldn't try to get along, right?"_

* * *

**"Then, I start wondering' where I'd be if you hadn't died."**

* * *

_"But what would have happened if you hadn't died?"_

* * *

**"I wouldn't be his partner, I wouldn't have even met boss; I'd still be grievin' my own partner's death and makin' life hard for everyone else. Y'know, th' Beast Trainers talked 'bout puttin' me down before; they never had t' do that to a Pokemon b'fore."**

* * *

_"I would never have gone with him, I would have left him to be with you; I'd be all alone, still struggling to survive, still wishing to die. It was nice to think about just dying before. I was ready for it as well, but too afraid to do it myself."_

* * *

**"I'm really happy, ya know?"**

Tears were starting to mist over Donovan's eyes as he said this. **"I love boss, like, A LOT, and I wanna be able to be with him. But that's only 'cause you're gone."**

* * *

_"It was my fault, really."_

Mitternacht's hand clenched at his heart, right by the red horn in his chest. _"Maybe if I hadn't existed, you two would have a stronger bond, one that extended outside of the heat of the battlefield. But I can't help feeling happy because you're gone, that I know him."_

* * *

**"I feel so weak sometimes, ev'n tho' I've got this much power, I can't do anythin'."**

* * *

_"Am I evil for wanting this, for being content with this life at your expense?"_

* * *

**"But..."**

* * *

_"Even so..."_

* * *

The tears wouldn't fall and a smile was on Donovan's face. **"If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead."**

* * *

Mitternacht's hand fell to his side, his head held up. _"If it wasn't for you, I would be all alone."_

* * *

Donovan gently set his paw on the gravestone as carefully as possible.** "So... thanks. Thanks for being' there for him."**

* * *

Mitternacht knelt before the gravestone with the utmost respect._ "Thank you. Thank you for saving him."_

* * *

This stuff writes itself sometimes, I'm not even kidding.

Length will vary.


	3. Before the Fall: Titan's child

_In the year 845, humanity lost a third of their territory, along with the land they had taken back from the titans. However, this was not the first time that titans had made into humanity's land. However, those who survived were strictly gagged and it left no imprint on the Government's records._

_But this does not change the fact that this happened._

* * *

"Our request is simple; open the gates!"

A group of people in ornate robes stood before the gates of the Zhiganshina, their way blocked by Survey Corps members. They long green cloaks, white pants and shirt, tan jacket, black boots and fingerless gloves with blades at their hips, though they had yet to draw them forth.

A few bizarre creatures stood by their side, though many were without. They wore tan shawls and green scarfs around their necks, as stationary as their masters. The only ones who could afford to have such partners were those of influence or connections; when humanity had crossed the sea to escape the titans, they could only bring a few Pokemon with them.

"What is that group...?" a young man with spiky black hair and brown eyes wondered.

"I recognize those robes," another young man with a mop of blond hair and dark green eyes said with a grimace, the Mightyena at his heel growling at the people before them. "They belong to a group of titan-worshipers; I thought it was only a rumour, but..."

That was when the blond noticed his companion looking shocked. "Solm, what's wrong?"

"Carlo, at the head of them-!"

Calro followed his eyes to see a woman with black hair light blue eyes and a mole beneath the right part of her lip before her chin at the head of the group. "No way-! Lady Elena?!"

* * *

_A black speck appeared in the sky, stark against the blue sky and white clouds. Down it descended, a blur of blood in it's wake before splattering against the stone of the ground._

_Soldiers who wore long green cloaks with the emblem of the Survey Corps stared in surprise at the object. "A... human head?"_

_"H- HEATH!"_

_The scream ripped from Elena's mouth before she threw herself at the head, sobbing as she cradled the flesh in her arms. The soldiers could only watch as the wife of their deceased commander continued to wail._

* * *

"Lady Elena, what are you doing with these people?!" Solm cried out as he ran to her. "You-"

That's when he took her expression in fully; there was something wrong with her eyes, with her posture; it was as if Elena wasn't even aware of her actions, as if she was _unconscious._

"Hey, that woman, isn't she the widow of Captain Munsell of the Survey Corps?" One of the soldiers wondered.

"Wait, you mean Heath Munsell, whose head got thrown up over the wall?" another exclaimed.

"It's too cruel, for his wife to be consorting with those people, who worship the monsters who keep us trapped in these walls!" a third grimaced.

"Open the gate!" Elena called out, her arms held out wide. "Let us out!"

The others behind and with her took up the cry, their voices echoing in the space loudly, repeating, "Open the gate!" over and over again.

"Lady Elena, stop it!" Solm cried out, gripping the woman by her arms. "This has gone too far- for the wife of a captain to even consider worshipping titans-!"

But Elena was deaf to his cries as she continued to shout, "Open the gate!"

"Solm."

Carlo gripped his friend's shoulder and pulled him away from Elena. "But-!"

"They revel in preying on emotion weakness," the blond said with a scowl. "This is the perfect way to bring those associated with the Survey Corps under their wing."

"You mean that that's tied in with this uprising?!" Solm exclaimed before he scowled too. "We wouldn't even need to enter the fray; the Garrison would have been enough to subdue them. Except..."

Carlo and Solm looked up to the top of one of the nearby houses. Three cloaked figures held a shaking man at the edge of a halberd.

"I see, so that's how they got this far in the first place; they captured that idiot official from the royal government!" Solm realized. "I heard that he came here for some kind of reception; guess that was just a trap."

Carlo grimaced as he examined the man's fat torso and fine clothing. "Just look at him; clearly, he's lived quite a refined lifestyle, unlike the civilians and soldiers here in Zhiganshina."

Just then, the two young men heard a loud clanging of a bell, specifically the Liberty Bell, sounding out from above.

"Give us true freedom!" Elena screamed. "TRUE FREEDOM!"

At that, one of the cloaked figures swung the halberd and sliced off the official's head in one clean stroke. However, there was another noise that commanded their attention. They turned around as stone grated against stone and the gate opened up.

Then... they heard footsteps echo, before giant fingers gripped the gateway. A face came into view, giant and deformed, it's mouth split in a toothy grin with the flesh on it's face and body sagging hideously.

Unbridled panic lit the city up like a forest fire, as people screamed and ran for their lives. One unlucky man tripped and the titan's hand closed around his waist and brought him to it's giant mouth, it's yellowed, rotten teeth gleaming dully. It shoved the poor man into it's mouth as he screamed and begged for mercy before it's teeth snapped down on his skull, ending his terror.

The titan continued to move forward, grabbing anyone within reach, sometimes full handfuls of screaming men women and children alike, and devoured them with relish. It's feet smashed down on the ground, crushing anyone near enough to it that it didn't eat.

The bells tolled out chaotically, but it failed to drown out the screams of terror and pain that echoed about.

* * *

Solm and Carlo struggled to catch their breaths, exhausted and wounded from trying to fight. The Mightyena was holding up a bit better, but her power was becoming depleted the more she fought as well.

"Is this... hell?" the blond wondered as they beheld the destruction and blood before them both.

Just then, the brunet backed away from his comrade and Pokemon. "Titans-!"

The blond looked back at him with a grimace. "Solm..."

Solm didn't reply, his expression that of fear as sweat trickled down his face. The blond's grimace deepened as he felt his own sweat trickle down his eyelid. _Even for those of the Survey Corps, even with these creatures with us, would succumb to this horror..._

He gripped at his head as he sank to his knees in despair. After thirty years, the enemy has carved itself into humanity's consciousness once again...

The titan had cornered several people against a cluster of houses, leisurely reaching out to anyone within reach. A screaming boy reached out to anyone to save him before the titan's teeth clamped down in a gleeful smile, it's fingers and chest stained in blood.

* * *

_The memories of humanity's natural enemy, which had faded a mere thirty years ago, carved itself once more into humanity's consciousness, when they had no means of fighting back, save for the mysterious creatures that had been brought from across the sea with them..._

* * *

"We... we did it."

The titan's massive corpse smoked on the ground. Carlo and Solm didn't know who landed the punishing blow that finally ended the titan's life, but it was finally dead. But their victory was costly; so many soldiers alike laid around it's corpse, the humans missing their heads or limbs or their bodies little more than hunks of flesh that had been crushed or thrown aside.

Not once did the titan try to attack the Pokemon, but focused its attention on the humans. The only reason Pokemon laid dead at all was because they had tried to protect their masters. Carlo grimaced as he saw the life fade from a Staravia before it's head thumped onto the stone.

The only reason that they had even been able to kill the titan was because after it had taken its sweet time killing and eating and destroying, the titan stopped near one of the wider roads and started to cough up what it had eaten. A few braver Survey Corps members had hacked away at it's shins, cutting apart the veins and achilles tendons before the rest of the soldiers and their few Pokemon more or less swarmed over it, hacking, chopping, slashing, biting, and ripping apart anywhere they could reach before the titan noticed them.

Now, along with the corpses of the deceased, be they soldier or civilian, along with the titan's own massive corpse, were being burned before the two young men and their Pokemon. Humans knew so little of titans, but they absolutely couldn't deny the possibility of the foul monsters carrying diseases on them.

That being said, the families of the unfortunates that the titan had devoured would never have true closure or even be given the luxury of seeing their bodies, as they would soon be burned.

Solm and Carlo watched as their bodies went up in smoke, disgust and anguish alike clawing at them. The corpses' features warped in deformity and terror as the flames licked at their skin.

"They were just spat back out again without being digested," Carlo said in a low voice as Solm looked away from their faces. "They're not even allowed peace after death..."

The Mightyena looked at her master with a solemn expression before gently laying her head on his knee in a comforting gesture. Carlo looked at her with a grimace before his own expression softened and he scratched behind her ears in thanks.

Solm's eyes lit with anger before he got up and kicked angrily at what was left of the titan's body, shouting, _"Don't eat them if all you're gonna do it cough 'em back up again!"_

He collapsed on one knee a moment later, his gloved-hand gripping at his mouth before the raven-haired man's stomach won out and he started retching. After a few minutes, he was done and the Mightyena had already drapped her own shawl over the sick.

"I can't understand how titans behave at all!" Solm rasped, the bitterness of the vomit still in his mouth.

Carlo grimaced as he said, "I don't think I even want to understand. But it's a given fact that titans are humanity's natural enemy, right?"

He looked back at the corpses as the fire had yet to reach them. "Their equipment and clothing are intact, but without a hint of digestion, and there's not taste since they get vomited back up, don't they?"

The blond waited for his friend's response, but there was silence. He glanced up to see Solm's eyes wide and locked on the pile. Carlo followed his line of sight before his eyes widened as well.

"Lady Elena!"

Indeed, the woman from before that had been devoured along with the titan-worshipers. She had been swallowed whole, save for the area before her thighs when the titan had first gotten in, her face still frozen in the smile that was on her face as she greeted with titan with open arms. Grief crossed both young men's faces as they gazed at the woman.

Elena had just married Captain Munsell about two years ago, and she had been expecting their first child. Now, husband, wife and child had all perished at the hands of humanity's enemy. The worst and most tragic ending possible for anyone.

"Contact the Garrison," Carlo told Solm. "We need to clear away this area when-"

Just then, the Mightyena's hackles raised and she turned to face the pile, a low growl in her throat. Carlo looked down at her in bewilderment before following her line of sight. Then, against any and all conceivable logic, Elena's belly _shifted._

The Mightyena immediately stood between her master and Solm and the pile, growling lowly while the two young men stared in disbelief.

"No way-!" Solm gasped. "Could she still be alive-?!"

"No-!"

A disturbing and horrifying idea was in both young men's heads now; when Elena had been eaten, the titan's mouth had clamped down on her legs below her belly before they had snapped down, effectively swallowing her whole. But the titan hadn't eaten anyone else like her, their bodies in tatters with Elena's being the only who's body, albeit deformed, was the most intact.

"Don't tell me this is how they reproduce!"

"That's not-"

"How can you be sure of that, Carlo?!" the raven-haired young man cried out to his friend. "We know nothing of titans, let alone their reproductivity methods!"

Carlo grimaced at that. Was Solm right? Did titans really spawn from the remains of those they had eaten? If they were to go by that logic, then titans were basically the same as humans, but that wasn't what Carlos focused on.

_I can't allowed this nightmare to take place again, no matter what!_

With that, Carlo drew forth his sword and ran to the pile. The blade slashed down and sliced open her bell before a wet splat echoed in the space. Beneath her legs, a tiny infant, a boy with dark copper hair, lay in the blood and water, oblivious to the dead around him, or the fear because of him.

"The baby...!" Solm whispered, his eyes wide. "Don't tell me it had been alive all of this time inside her belly even after being swallowed-!"

The two men looked at the baby with wide and apprehensive expressions; for why had this one baby survived when everyone else that the titan had devoured been killed?

"Titan's child..."

* * *

Length will vary.


	4. A Choice with No Regrets: Freedom Wings

Ruby red eyes looked up. The titans were coming closer with every step. There would be no backup coming for her, no last-minute rescue; there would be no one to witness her final moments, not even her precious, precious, partner.

Her pale green, slender arms branched out as if welcoming the titans into her embrace before psychic energy crackled around her. Then, blue became black and violet electricity shuddered around her figure.

A serene smile graced her lips.

* * *

_In the year 844..._

* * *

An old man with stringy white hair and beard was seated in a plush armchair, alternating between turning the pages he was reading slowly and leisurely sipping a cup of tea. The drapes were drawn against the window, though it did nothing to hide the dark blue, almost jet black sky of the late night.

Just then, a knock came on the door. "Enter," the old man stated.

Witht that, a man wearing a hood came into the room and crossed over to the old man before bowing before him. The old man didn't even look up from his book as he said, "Speak."

"They have agreed to our terms, my lord," the hooded man reported.

"I see."

There was silence between the two men for a few minutes, with the only sound being that of pages being flipped and the flames in the fireplace crackling lowly. The hooded man's eyes gleamed with mirth as he said, "I could see the plan in one of their eyes; they'll use the 'documents' to threaten us into submission."

The hooded man gave a chuckle. "Short-sighted fools. They can't see what lies beyond their own pride. Those are thugs for you."

"Indeed," the old man agreed. "Soon, we'll be rid of Smith, along with those three insects, in one fell swoop. I assume that you've set the fail-safe into place then?"

"I have, my lord."

The old man smirked.

* * *

_"Ashford Vantas."_

_The young, lanky, dark-skinned man swallowed back the lump in his throat, focusing, by his side was a tiny yellow Pokemon with pink petals on it's head and armless torso. Darius Zackly and Nathaniel "Nate" Crimms stood in front of him, while the entirety of the party attendees and soldiers watched from behind. In the latter's hands was a box with a pale bronze bolo tie with a dull yellow stone set in the metal._

_"As of this day, you will be in command of the Beast Trainers," Darius Zackly said in a loud, grave tone._

_Nathaniel stepped forward and presented the tie to Ash. His hands shook slightly as he tied it around his neck before turning to face the crowd. His hazel eyes locked on no one in particular as they clapped politely._

* * *

"Hey come on now..."

The Bonsley fussed again as she tried to dodge the needle and syringe again. Ash sighed before he said, "Come on; this'll keep you from getting sick. Do you really want to be stuck in bed for days on end because you wouldn't let me give you a vaccine? Alraune, please calm her down."

The little rock-type grimaced as she looked at the needle with apprehension before the Cherrim let out a soft, sweet scent from his flower. It made her eyes start to droop and she began to feel a little sleepy before she felt a sharp pain in her side as Ash injected the medicine into her system.

"Now, was that so bad?" Ash said with a little smile.

The Bonsley responded with a swift headbutt.

"Yup, I figured you'd react like that," Ash chuckled, nursing the bruise on his forehead before turning back to the soldiers standing to attention. "Okay; take this little one back now!"

"Yes sir."

Ash watched the three of them leave before he gave a sigh and stretched his arms. His military jacket had been left in his office to avoid getting dirty, showcasing his lanky black turtleneck tanktop torso and wiry arms, including the long, thin scars on his left arm, and hands clad in fingerless black gloves. The Cherrim by his side was in his overcast form, as it was rather cloudy at the moment and he wore the shawl given to Pokemon, only it was with with a yellow hem and higher collar to show his rank.

"Here you are."

Ash looked up to see Andreas running up to him, his shirt rolled up and his jacket tied around his waist, as most soldiers in the Beast Trainers would do during work. Charlie wasn't with him at the moment, which worried the young man. "Am I needed somewhere else?"

"Not this second," Andreas answered with a grin. "I just came over to congratulate you; it's not every day you become a commander!"

At this, his expression became more serious. "The point is, you don't have to come onto the field as often, not when you'll be having more work to do at the desk."

But Ash simply shook his head. "I know that, and so did the other commanders before. But that never stopped them from giving help out here. Besides, we never have enough hands so it's the least I can do. Even Commander C-, I mean, Nathaniel, came out here before; we both know that."

"That's true, but I've been around long enough to see that if you keep going at the pace of work you're going at, you'll kill yourself. Over-exertion and exhaustion, and even skipping meals will follow; that's the most common death for the Beast Trainer commanders to face if they do die."

"... I guess you have a point; I don't suppose you could help me with managing my time properly? I'm terrible at things like that."

That's when Andreas saw how Ash's frame trembled, how wide his eyes were and how fake the smile on his lips were.

"I mean- people are going to be depending on me to see to it that their partners are in the best shape possible, so if they do bad, then it'll reflect on all for our efforts. But... who in their right mind would put me in charge of all of this? I'm no leader of men or a scholar; all I've got going for me is how I understand Pokemon and even then, it's not much-"

At that, Andreas gripped Ash's shoulder firmly, effectively cutting his tirade off. "You're underestimate your worth, Ash. Nathaniel wouldn't have chosen you for this if he didn't think you couldn't handle the title and it's responsibilities. He could have chosen anyone. Hell, he even could have chosen me when I've been here for over two decades. But he chose someone who was nearly thrown out because of a game-breaking injury. If that doesn't give testament to your skills and worth, I don't know what does."

Ash's hand clenched at the scars on his left arm, a half-grimace formed on his face at the memories. "I suppose so..."

"Come on," Andreas said good-naturedly as he rose back on his feet. "We can start right now; I've just finished up my own training a while ago."

The young commander couldn't help smiling at his now-subordinate's cheer. "Thank you, Andreas-er, Officer Brock. I promise; I'll be a commander you can be proud serving under."

"I already am, boss!"

* * *

_After the titans appeared more than a century ago, humanity surrounded itself and its' territory with three different walls; Maria, Rose and Sina. Within the inner most walls of Sina, lay the capital- the center of economy, government for all of humanity. Elegant palaces lined the outskirts and all who lived there were guaranteed a prosperous life._

_However, even in the glamourous capital- or rather, because of its' prosperity, there lies within, a dark and twisted underbelly. Beneath the towns that surrounded the capital, was a vast underground living space._

_The Underground City._

_According to ancient documents, it had been briefly proposed that humans would move underground to escape the titans. But in the end, immigration was halted and its' ruins became a lair for the criminal and destitute. Even the monarchy turned its' back on the area and slums soon formed. Even the idea of the military entering the area was frowned upon._

* * *

"Are you sure that this is the right place?"

Erwin Smith looked over at the soldier to his left, Mike Zacharias. The two of them, along with two more soldiers under the latter's command, were going down deep beneath the streets of Wall Sina. What was unusual about their company was that while they were geared up for battle, their Pokemon partners were absent. This was intentional.

"Yes, I'm certain," the blond soldier answered his friend. "Those three will be down there."

"Those three", being a group of thugs that had been giving the Military Police trouble for quite a few years now. The Military Police were considered the best of the best along with their partners and for three thugs to avoid them even with the aid of their partners, despite the fact that none of them had any Pokemon of their own and were using gear that had been scheduled to have been thrown away when they were stolen, was a bad blow to their pride.

While Erwin knew for a fact that many of the crimes that the three had allegedly committed were fabricated, he still wanted to catch them himself. He still remembered that day, when Nile Dawk had requested him to assist them. He and Mike had gone down themselves to try to find these three.

He ended up witnessing one of their skills as one of their members, a tiny but muscled man with jet black hair, use the 3D maneuvering gear with inhuman grace and efficiency to knock out another thug who had insulted him. When he had shot away with the other two members, Erwin had caught his gaze. Dark silver looked back into sky-blue and Erwin had never wanted something so badly as for that man to join their ranks.

He had gotten information on the three from records. One Isabel Magnolia and Farlen Church were members of the gang, but the last one remained unknown with no name or records of his birth, and Erwin was willing to bet anything that the unknown third member of the gang was the man he saw before.

"You all know the plan, correct?" Erwin addressed them.

"Yes sir," the two soldiers confirmed while Mike nodded.

Erwin knew that they were weary of being down there and going into a potential battle without their partners by their sides, but he was doing this to make a statement; both human and Pokemon in the Survey Corps were fighters. If they went in with their partners, they'd just make them believe that they couldn't accomplish anything without them.

His eyes flickered over to his immediate right before remembering. This didn't escape Mike's attention and he gave his friend a concerned look. "Erwin..."

"It's fine," the blond dissuaded, shaking his head and his expression becoming serious. _"Let's go!"_

* * *

Three figures shot by swiftly across the air, mere shadows streaking the otherwise dark area of the Underground city. Their company consisted of two men and one woman. The first male had messy, pale grey hair and hazel eyes. The woman had vivid red hair tied into two pigtails and turquoise blue eyes. The second male was much shorter than either of his companions with black hair and the back shaved, and dark silver eyes.

"There's about four people behind us," Farlen Church told his two friends. "It's impressive that they're still up on duty at this hour, but they don't have any Pokemon with them at the moment."

"Cheh; those Military Police lot sure are stubborn, not to mention arrogant. I'll give 'em that," Isabel Magnolia smirked. "They think they can catch us without their 'precious partners'?"

She paused for a brief moment before looking back at her raven-haired companion. "Hey Levi! Wasn't what I just said cool-sounding?!"

Levi Ackerman turned back to the red-head with a flat look as he asked, "Are you a moron?" before saying, "Either way, we can't lead them back to the hideout; it'll be a pain in the ass but..."

At that, he turned back to his two companions. "Farlen."

"Yeah."

"Isabel."

"Yeah!"

_"Let's go!"_

With that, the three shot down into the streets of the Underground City. They fired off the grappling hooks of their 3D maneuvering gear into the stone structures around them and flew through the city, barely missing the people walking about while other ducked to avoid them. They were like birds in speed, and bats in maneuverability.

"Yahoo!" Isabel whooped before vaulting over a man while yelling, "Make way, make way!"

Levi shot between another man and cart, making him crash it and himself into the stone street. _"You damned thugs!"_ the man bellowed after them, shaking his fist.

"Guys, be more careful, will you?" Farlen said, sweat dropping as they cleared the street. "Or at least don't give people unnecessary heart attacks."

Isabel stuck her tongue out at the blond while Levi's expression never changed. Farlen's grimace deepened as he said, "They're still following us and it looks like they're closing in."

As he finished his sentence, Levi saw four figures shooting towards them.

"They're doing pretty well this time around, for Military Police standards," Isabel snorted. "What, are they serious about trying to bring us down this time?"

Farlen and Levi exchanged glances at that, dark silver into hazel. There was definitely something off about the soldiers chasing them; they were more skilled than the Military Police that they ran into. If Farlen had been correct, and if that man's words were true...

"Those guys might not belong to the Military Police," Levi said in a low voice before maneuvering himself back around to a jutting, rotting stone pillar. "I'll check. Loop around that pillar over there."

With that, the three of them shot up towards the stone and Levi fired one of the grappling hookings into the pillar before the mechanism attached to the wire retracted, swinging the raven-haired man around in a 180° turn. This was an extremely difficult move for anyone and would have easily resulted in the user smashing themselves into the ground, but not Levi. Never Levi.

As he came around, the four soldiers from before finally came into view, copying the turn he made before like a mirror.

Isabel whistled, "Huh, not too shabby!" before noticing that Levi had returned. "Er, I mean-"

But Levi didn't reprimand her but his expression became a bit more serious as he said, "That's the Survey Corps for you."

"Levi, are you sure?" Farlen asked, hoping against hope that this was the one time he was wrong.

"Yeah," Levi affirmed. "I saw their crest."

The white and blue wings interlocking and framed in silver flashed before his eyes. "That was definitely 'the wings of freedom'."

"So they're the ones who actually fight the titan outside the walls, right?" Isabel said as she looked back. "I guess the guys who're actually trained to deal with this kinda stuff are different from the MPs, huh? Wonder if that Erwin guy is with 'em."

"Levi-" Farlen began.

"I've no intention of getting involved with them," Levi stated, as he stole another glance behind him.

The man he had seen a few weeks before, the Survey Corps soldier who had seen him use the gear, was one of the four chasing him. "But now that it's come this, they won't be easy to shake off," he finished, remembering the look on the blond's face, the look of someone who had found exactly what they had been searching for for so long and was determined to seize it.

"I won't lose!" Isabel grinned, regaining her composure. "I'll make every damn one of 'em cry!"

"Shit..." Farlen grimaced worriedly, "Even so, this is getting to be a real mess. If we really do end up getting caught, then they'll definitely confiscate our gear. Even if we haven't done anything, this could get troublesome."

The gear they had had been stolen from the Military Police on the day it was supposed to be thrown out. Farlen had managed to fix the gears so they could be usable and with his other gang members, Levi and Isabel they had been able to supply themselves with gas, sheaths, propellant and swords. It had given them an advantage over the other thugs of the Underground, not to mention a weapon against the irate Pokemon that dwelled beneath.

"So long as we avoid capture, it'll be fine," Levi said before looking back at his two friends. "You guys know what to do, right?"

"Yep!"

"Sure, whatever..."

With that, the three of them split up. As Levi went in his direction, he noticed that two soldiers were following after him, one of them the blond. He remembered the deal that the hooded man who visited them before had offered.

* * *

_It had happened during the night. Someone had knocked on the door to their hideout. __After a brief skirmish, Farlen had managed to keep Levi from slitting the hooded man's throat and asked him why he had come to them on the first place._

_"I'm a messenger from a certain individual; allow me to get straight to the point," the hooded man explained. "Captain Erwin Smith plans on capturing the three of you and making you join the Survey Corps. Once you've been admitted, I want you to steal documents pertaining to my client. If possible and encouraged, I'd prefer if you would eliminate him as well."_

_Levi, Isabel and Farlen looked at the man for a few moments before the ravenet snorted, "Has your biological clock gone haywire or something? You expect us to believe that a full-fledged member of society came down to recruit the scum of the Underground; what kind of dumbasses do you take us for?"_

_"The reward is money, as well as a place to live in the Capitol," the hooded man said._

_Now it was beginning to get even more shady; so they not only decided to contact thugs for such a job, but even offer them such a reward. "I'll pretend that I never saw your face," Levi addressed the hooded man. "Now hurry up and go back to the surface-"_

_"Wait, Levi."_

_Farlen had cut him off and the two's eyes met. The ravenet could already see the gears in Farlen's brain turning as he said to the man, "I got the gist of it, but your offer is rather sudden and there's no way we could give you an answer right on the spot; you can understand that, can't you? We'll give your offer some thought, all right?"_

_The hooded man remained silent for a few moments before giving a nod. "You have until tomorrow morning to give me your answer. No one is to hear a word of this conversation, or your friends will be the ones who ultimately suffer."_

_Farlen nodded as he offered his hand to the hooded man. "Of course."_

_The hooded man looked at the hand for a few moments before giving it a quick brush and leaving. Levi scowled at the gesture and when the hooded man's footsteps died away, he turned back to the grey-haired male. "Hey-"_

_However, his reply was cut away as Farlen winced and his eyes shut tightly. Isabel and Levi rose up in alarm as their friend clutched at his head, taking in a sharp breath before he became still as a stone._

_"Farlen, are you...?" Isabel asked, her tone worried._

_"Nicholas Lobov."_

_Levi blinked. "Who's that?"_

_Farlen straightened himself up and shook his head slightly before explaining, "That's the name of his client; Nicholas Lobov. It seems that that man's client is quite influential on the surface."_

_"Farlen, you're not actually thinking of accepting, are you?!" Isabel exclaimed._

_"Aside from the gold being offered, is a place to live in the Capitol; the only ones who could afford to offer us lives we could never imagine would be a noble or a big-name merchant, with Lobov being the former. He could easily give us both of those things if we succeed and more."_

_Levi could see his friend's point and he said, "Even if we do manage to get these documents, this Lobov definitely come after us next; you can't seriously think that they'll just let us reap such a reward and let us be?"_

_"That's why we'll target him first," Farlen said, his expression becoming confident, "and use the documents to threaten him into submission."_

_"Really," Levi deadpanned. "A bunch of lower class thugs from the Underground are going to threaten that surface-dwelling pig?"_

_"It's our best possible chance," Farlen replied. "Besides... don't you want to get out of the Underground, out of this dump?"_

* * *

But like hell he was going to let himself get captured.

_All right; let's see what the Survey Corps can do._

With that, Levi shot through the city with practiced ease. With the narrow streets, winding alleyways with garbage and clothes lines, this was a nightmare for anyone with the 3D maneuvering gear. One wrong move and its' user could end up dead. But not Levi. He navigated through all of the obstacles that the Underground had to offer before and he replicated those feats once more.

One of the hooks embedded itself in the wood on a wall in an alley and Levi swing him up backwards and looked in the opposite direction from where he was in the air, upside down but perfectly in control of his movements as this was something he had done several times before. The two soldiers were nowhere in sight.

"I must have taken them too seriously," Levi said to himself as he landed. "I just hope those two haven't fucked up or anything-"

That was when Levi heard a creak behind him followed by a loud yell. Then, one of the soldiers smashed through the rotting planks on the side of the house and full-on tackled the raven-haired man. Of all the moves that he had been expected, such a forward attack hadn't been one of them. It benefited them, the soldiers who had been tempered by battle.

But he didn't let it catch him off guard any more than it did a second ago. Using the soldier's own momentum against him, Levi threw him off.

_There should be another,_ Levi thought as he quickly activated the gear and shot up in the direction where the soldier had attacked him. _Are they hiding or-_

On instinct, Levi looked up, expecting to see the soldier coming at him, but saw nothing. As Levi realized his mistake, he saw the other soldier shoot up from the darkness with his blades drawn. The one second Levi had been caught off guard, where he had stopped moving, was enough for the blond soldier to slice apart the wires that Levi had fired and send the raven-haired man smashing against the wall back first, hitting his head hard enough against the stone to draw blood.

He would have landed head first onto the ground but the blond soldier grabbed him by his forearm and held him tightly, stopping his descent. Levi tried to kick back at him only for the stubbled soldier to deliver a sharp kick at his shins. The force behind the blow was enough to send Levi's legs into agony as he fell to his knees before the blond solder grabbed his other arm and clamped a set of manacles onto his wrists.

About a minute later, the other soldiers returned with Isabel and Farlen, their hands restrained by manacles as well. When the red-haired woman saw Levi, she kicked out at her captor angrily, barely avoiding his crotch. _"You leave my big bro alone, you bastards!"_

"Isabel, shut up," Farlen dead-panned, the only one out of his group truly recognizing that they had lost.

The stubbled soldier yanked Levi up and dragged him over while the other two soldiers dropped Isabel and Farlen onto their knees before stripping them of the 3D maneuvering gear. The blond soldier faced them.

"Your skills with the gear are remarkable," he said. "Where did you find these gears and how did you learn how to maneuver like that?"

Farlen averted his eyes, Isabel looked back defiantly and Levi's expression was shadowed. The blond soldier walked before Levi and said, "You're the leader of this group, right? Have you have any formal training before?"

Levi raised his head to give the blond soldier a look that showed only the flattest expression of disdain, and that was putting it mildly.

"That look says you're planning on the best possible way to kill me and escape with those two," the blond soldier remarked. "I didn't want to have to be rough, but..."

He gazed at the stubbled soldier and he nodded back. A second later, the stubbled soldier grabbed a fistful of Levi's hair and smashed his head and face into the pool of stagnant sewer water before the three thugs. Isabels' eyes widened in shock and Farlen grimaced.

"I'll ask again," the blond soldier said as Levi struggled to lift his face out of the water, "where did you get this gear?"

Levi still remained silent but glared at the blond soldier for all that he was worth.

"No one taught us how to use it!" Isabel yelled at him angrily. "We learned all by ourselves! Quit lording yourself over us when you're just a public servant!"

"You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical of such a claim."

"We did whatever necessary to survive down in this dump," Farlen retorted with a flat and stern look, "though I don't expect someone who's never had to resort to drinking sewer water to survive would understand."

"Perhaps, but that's not what we're discussing right now," the blond soldier replied back.

The stubbled soldier yanked Levi back out of the puddle, the smaller man gasping for air as he had tried to keep from inhaling the water into his nose and mouth.

"What's your name?" the blond soldier asked. "Mine is Erwin Smith."

Levi glared at the blond- Erwin Smith, apparently- with the same glare from before. Smith looked back at the stubbled soldier and Levi's face was smashed right back into the puddle so suddenly he actually inhaled some through his nose and mouth, the taste nearly making him gag as the beginnings of bile shuddered in his throat.

"You son-of-a-bitch, leave him alone!" Isabel shouted angrily, trying futilely to get free and do something other than sitting around.

Farlen quickly caught her gaze as she tried to get free again and shook his head. Isabel stared at her friend incredulously before her teeth gritted together in frustrated helplessness. Levi was being treated like dirt right in front of her, her precious big brother, and there wasn't a thing she could do!

"If you don't answer," Smith said as the stubbled soldier yanked Levi's face out of the water again, "shall I turn to your comrades then?"

At that, the two soldiers who had captured Farlen and Isabel set their blades to their necks. Levi's eyes widened at his friends' plight before he glared at the blond with murderous loathing, the taste of the sewer water in his mouth turning to ash. _"You bastard-!"_

_"What is your name?"_ Smith asked once more, with the same intensity.

They held each others' gaze for nearly a minute, neither willing to back down. However, with the knowledge that his friends were being held at sword point a little more than a meter away from him-

_"... it's Levi," _he finally relented through gritted teeth.

"Levi," Smith repeated, going before the thug and knelt down before him in the sewer water so they could see eye to eye and asked, "Will you make a deal with me?"

Levi was taken back for a second at the gesture; he had expected gloating, not the guy getting down on his knees in front of him. "A deal...?"

"You won't be charged for any previous crimes you've committed, and in return for this, you will join the Survey Corps."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you'll be handed over to the Military Police. Considering the crimes they have your group pegged for, I wouldn't consider it wise to turn down my offer, unless you prefer execution or a lifetime of working in the fields," Smith stated, his cold expression never wavering.

Levi had never felt so furious in his life, not even when he had been subject to _his_ whims. The indignant wrath had actually closed off his throat, he couldn't think of anything derogatory enough to snarl at the man, standing there like some well-groomed rich bastard, pushing him into the ground and looking at him like he was lower than an insect-!

_How dare you insult and humiliate me like this. __How dare you threaten the lives of my friends._

In that time, Levi knew exactly what his choice would be and he squared his gaze and answered, "I'll do it; I'll join the Survey Corps."

_And I'll show you just what kind of fate awaits you in the end... Erwin Smith._

* * *

So it begins. I really enjoyed writing this chapter.


	5. Shenannigans: Days 1 and 2

_The Trainee Corps. This is where the boys, girls and Pokemon who volunteered to protect humanity and halt the titans' advancement train. It's rather like a school._

* * *

_Day 1..._

* * *

Eren raced out of the barracks, a baguette stuffed into his mouth, alternating between breathing through his nose and chewing the bread.

"I'm late, I'm late!" the chibi-brunet exclaimed as he ripped a piece of bread and chewed it frantically. "If I'm late to the first day of training, how can I defeat the titans like this?!"

At that, tears beaded his eyes, causing the chibi-brunet to stop from sheer mordifiment. If someone were to see him in such a state-!

"Wipe, wipe," he muttered as he rubbed the tears away with his sleeve before noticing a gap in the fence that seperated him from the building.

"Looks like I can use that as a shortcut!" Eren grinned.

He shimmied through the hole cheerfully, nearly through when his progress was halted. He tried to move forward again, only to be jerked back. On closer inspection, the chibi-brunet was horrified to see that his belt had been caught in the fence.

_"Fuck my liiiiiiiife!"_ he wailed.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other chibi-cadets were gathered along with their chibi-Pokemon, waiting for the class to start. Mikasa and Armin were seated near the front of the class along with Becquerel, Rillo and Tanya.

"Eren's late," Armin remarked worriedly. "Mikasa, weren't you, Tanya and Becquerel with him earlier?"

"No," the chibi-ravenette deadpanned.

**"Absol-sol-Ab,"** Becquerel replied.

**"Runt- snorunt!"** Tanya exclaimed.

"Could he still be sleeping?"

"Dunno."

The chibi-blond sweat-dropped at his friend's blunt and deadpanned replies and mood. "W-well, I thought one of you would wake him for sure-"

**"Sol-sol, Absol,"** Becquerel pointed out.

**"Runt-runt,"** Tanya added.

"I guess you two have good excuses," Armin conceded, "but what about you, Mikasa?"

"Me?"

Armin flinched and held up his hands in self-defence. "W-well, it's just because the two of you have such a strong relationship!"

"... of course," Mikasa said, her cheeks alight with a pink blush.

Becquerel and Tanya both chuckled at this while Rillo blinked, confused. **"Ta-rat-tatta?"**

Tanya shook her head with a giggle. **"Sno-sno-runt."**

"Of course!" Armin agreed, rubbing the back of his head. "You guys used to live together after all; you're practically siblings!"

_"... yeah,"_ the chibi-ravenette deadpanned, the blush gone and her eyes void.

"S-so I thought that I could leave Eren to you so you could wake him up," Armin explained further, his sweat-drop still in place.

_"I see."_

Becquerel shook his head at the chibi-blond. **"Sol-Ab-sol-sol..."**

Tanya shrugged haplessly but with a smile.** "Runt-sno-sno~"**

"Still, Eren is really late," Armin said in a worried tone.

"Bang!"

No sooner had the words left Armins' mouth had Eren smacked the door open and collapsed onto the floor, wheezing and huffing. "That was too close; I was almost late to class!"

"Took you long enough," Mikasa said in a flat tone as Becquerel trotted over to his partner. **"Sol-Absol."**

Eren gave a smile at seeing the Absol, even in spite of his burning chest and legs and everything. "Morning, Bec."

"What happened to you?" Armin asked.

Eren sweat-dropped at that. "Well...er-"

Then, he snapped, "Never mind that right now!" before turning to the ravenette. "Mikasa, why didn't you wake me up?!"

"Why are you only asking me?" she asked.

"Just answer!"

"... weird rumours would be spread if I were to be seen in the boy's dormitory," she finally replied, her cheeks pink again.

"Whaddya mean 'rumours'?!"

"Pipe down."

Becquerel sighed at his partner's stupidity. _Sol..._

"I thought you'd wake me up for sure today!" Eren cried out betrayed before he wiped at his eyes frantically.

"Eren, are you crying again?" Mikasa asked concerned.

"I'm not crying!" the chibi-brunet snapped, wiping away more furiously.

**"Ratta-Rata? Tata-rat!"** Rillo squeaked with an upset tone, trying to comfort the chibi-brunet.

"Eren, stop it!" Armin scolded. "She just didn't want people to find out that you two were dating!"

"We're not dating!" Eren exclaimed incredulously.

Mikasa flinched at that, upset at his response before heavy footsteps echoed outside and shook the ground. Then, the chibi-Colossal titan pulled the roof off the building.

"It's here!" the three friends cried out in horror while Becquerel, Tanya and Rillo all exclaimed in shock.

The next moment, Eren, Armin and Mikasa plummeted into the chibi-Colossal titan's belly after it swallowed them, landing in a mess of boiling hot red liquid.

"Ack! Were we just swallowed by that titan?!" Armin wailed, tears beading his eyes as he looked up where the chibi-Colossal titan's mouth kept opening and closing for some odd reason.

"Dammit!" Eren lamented. "If only I had prepared for this, I could have fought back!"

He turned to the chibi-blond and snapped accusingly, "This is all because you said those weird things!" before turning to Mikasa and asking, "Right?!"

"Dunno," the chibi-ravenette shrugged.

"First of all, this place is-_glub-glub-glub-_"

"Don't argue in a place like this..."

Just then, blinding sunlight flashed before them as the chibi-Colossal titans' torso had been opened up like a hinged trapdoor before Becquerel, Tanya and Rillo leaped inside and yanked their respective partners out of the mess. The chibi-Colossal titan crashed to the ground, it's eyes as xs.

"Bec!" Eren cried happily as he hugged the chibi-Absol, even though his body was bright red with comical burns.

**"... Sol," **Becquerel sighed.**  
**

An ecstatic Hange Zoe appeared out of nowhere with a shriek of delight as they scoured over the massive body, poor Moblit trying to keep his squad leader from hurting themselves.

"Ah, it's so beautiful~" Hange crooned, rubbing their cheek against the chibi-Colossal titan's cheek, the creature sweat-dropping even as it was laying in agony.

Tanya sighed. **"Snorunt-runt, Sno..."**

Mikasa nodded. "You said it."

* * *

_Day 2..._

* * *

"... min! Armin!"

Armin's eyes slowly opened up to see a worried Eren and Rillo hovering over by his side.

"Rillo, Eren, what was I...?" Armin mumbled as he sat up.

**"Tata!"** Rillo wailed as she jumped into the chibi blond' embrace, crying unabashedly. **"Rattata, Tata-rat!"**

Armin gently cuddled the little Rattata as she continued to wail. "There, there; it's okay, I'm okay."

"Thank goodness," Eren breathed a sigh of relief. "You passed out during the morning assembly."

Armin looked around to see that he was indeed in the infirmary before his expression sagged and tears pricked his eyes. "Dammit! Even though I said I wouldn't drag you all down-"

**"Tata-tarat! Rattata, tata, rat!"** Rillo cried, shaking her head. **"Tatta, rat-rat, Tat!"**

"Armin, are you ill or something?" Eren asked, cutting his friend off mid-rant.

The chibi-blond shook his head. "Instructor Shadis' speech was so long and boring, I accidentally dozed off."

Eren stared in disbelief. "You fell asleep?!"

Armin nodded before asking, "Eren, don't you think that there's nothing more pointless than a long-winded, meaningless speech?"

"Hey, don't say that in front of the instructor," Eren cautioned with a sweat-drop.

"I agree with Armin," Mikasa said as she arrived out of nowhere and startled the hell out of the chibi-brunet. "Why're you here, Mikasa?!"

"Because I was worried," she answered.

"Thank you, but I'm fine," Armin said to the chibi-ravenette.

"Not about you," Mikasa retorted. "I was worried about Eren."

"Er- okay..."

Eren stared at his fried with a sweat-drop, bewildered at her as he snapped, "I'm not even ill or anything!"

"I was worried if you would be able to stand through the entire speech," Mikasa replied.

**"Tat-ratta?! Rattata, Tatta, Rat-tat!"** Rillo squeaked indignantly as she gestured to Armin. **"Tat-tat, Ratta, rat!"**

"Just how weak do you think I am?!" Eren snapped before regaining some of his composure. "I'll just think of this as training to defeat the titans. I'm going back."

However, the chibi-brunet barely got a few feet forward before Mikasa punched his lights out. When he came to, Eren was lying in one of the infirmary beds with bandages wrapped around his forehead and Becquerel by his bedside.

"What happened-?!"

**"Sol-Absol, Absol,"** Becquerel replied, nodding over to Mikasa.

Eren stared incredulously before his head throbbed in pain. "My head- OW!"

"You must have hit it when you fell," Mikasa suggested.

"You're the one who hit me the first place!" the chibi-brunet snapped. "What the hell is up with you trying to play innocent?! And why did you evn do that in the first place?!"

Mikasa's eyes became void and her eyebrows twitched as she answered, "I don't want you going back to that hell."

"There's gotta be a better way of stopping me!" Eren protested before his eyes filled with tears and his lips trembled.

Mikasa's expression immediately became concerned as she asked, "Eren, are you crying?"

"I'm not crying!" Eren snapped as he furiously wiped at his eyes. "Wipe, wipe."

Becquerel gave Mikasa a stern look before gently nuzzling Eren, careful not to let his horn touch the human. **"Absol..."**

"Bec, you're the only one who truly cares about me!" the chibi-brunet wailed as he hugged the chibi-Absol to him.

Mikasa visibly glowered at Becquerel.

"Stop making such a racket," Armin chided them both. "I'm still recovering, you know."

"As if!" Eren snapped eyes still watery as he looked up from hugging Becquerel. "You're just playing hooky!"

**"Tatta-rat!"** Rillo snapped, hugging Armin close to her.

**"Sol-sol..."**

Just then, a beam of light came in the infirmary as the chibi-Colossal titan took the roof off the building. "Not again!" the three humans all cried out while Becquerel and Rillo exclaimed in shock.

A second later, the three friends plummeted into the chibi-Colossal titan's belly and landed in the red liquid mess.

"If only I was at 100%, I could have fought back!" Eren lamented before turning to the chibi-blond. "Armin! Think of a way to get us out! We can't always rely on our partners to rescue us!"

"I can't think of a plan on such short notice!" Armin protested.

"It's fine, so long as I'm with you, Eren," Mikasa said, her cheeks bright pink and not because she was sinking deeper into the red liquid.

"No it's not!"

Just then, the chibi-Colossal titan's torso opened up as if on a hinge and Becquerel and Rillo fished out Eren, Mikasa and Armin respectively before the chibi-Colossal titan crashed into the ground, it's eyes as xs.

"Bec!" Eren cried out gratefully, his body bright red from the burns. "I knew you'd come through for me!"

**"... Sol," **Becquerel gave a sigh.

Just then, Hange raced across the wreckage of the grounds and began to crawl across the chibi-Colossal titans' body, Moblit not far behind.

"Ah, we meet again~" they crooned, rubbing their cheek against the chibi-Colossal titan's cheek.

"Squad leader, be carefuuuuuuul!" Moblit wailed as he tried to follow them.

**"Ratta..."** Rillo said weakly.

"Yeah, I know," Armin replied, sweat-dropping.

* * *

Thus, the readers learn the difference between the side stories and the shenanigans.

Anyways, I checked on of the sequels of Ponies from Afar; I finished LionHearted and started in Honor for the Princess. Lots of stuff happened but the one thing that sticks in my mind that leaves me be both elated and flabbergasted is this:

The author has Levi and Petra engaged in the latter.

I am elated because that pairing is one of my favorites, be it as comrades, friends or partners. But I am flabbergasted because I simply cannot imagine _Levi_ proposing to _anyone_. Well, in the traditional sense at least. Literally the only way I see him proposing is that he and Petra going out on their business and when the two are alone, he just straight up asks, "Do you wanna get married?"

Yup.

The end of my final year in high school is approaching fast and it still hasn't truly sunk in that I'm graduating, even after I got my cap and gown. Another thing is that soon I'm going t have to turn in the device that I've been using to type, so it's possible that my up-dates will slow down in the near future. I ask you to bear with me.


	6. Shenanigans: Days 3 and 6

_The Trainee Corps. This is where the boys, girls and Pokemon who volunteered to protect humanity and halt the titans' advancement train. It's rather like a school._

* * *

_Day 3..._

* * *

The chibi trainees were all lined up in rows, several of them nervous and with good reason, as their drill sergeant, former 12th commander of the Survey Corps, Keith Shadis, marched through them, his pale hazel eyes scrutinizing them until he came to a halt.

"Hey you!" Shadis barked at Armin who quickly saluted in return, "Yes sir!"

"Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm Armin Arlet of the Zhiganshina District!"

As the imposing man continued his troll- er, drilling, Eren Jaeger grinned confidently. Today was the day he was finally apart of the Trainee Corps and soon, he'd be killing titans with the Survey Corps. But first, he would show just how cool he was and stand out from the rest, no problem!

"M-my hobby is reading, sir!" Armin cried out.

Eren felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple. Should he talk about his hobbies too? Or for that matter, did he do any activities that could count as hobbies, besides wanting to devour the titans and hanging with his fathers' Pokemon?

_They give great company, but what if everyone laughs at me?_ Eren thought._ Everyone here, save for Armin and Mikasa, seem to think they're the same as mindless animals, and devouring the titans sounds way too arrogant..._

"Who the hell are you?!" Shadis barked at Mikasa.

The chibi ravenette quickly saluted sharply as she replied coolly, "I'm Mikasa Ackerman."

A few paces away, Jean Kirschtein watched her with wide eyes and cheeks flush with pink. He had never anyone like her around Trost before or anywhere else for that matter-

"My specialty is butchering flesh of varying variety," Mikasa stated.

_Like as in cooking meat?_ Jean thought before a sweet picture of a housewife-like Mikasa entered his mind, the dream-chibi ravenette holding a pot roast._ She's really family oriented, isn't she?!_

"About face!" Shadis barked before Mikasa turned around gracefully, her luscious black hair flipping about as she faced Jean. The ash-haired chibi felt his face burn.

_She's totally gorgeous-_

"You!" Shadis snapped right in front of Jean and giving him a rather disturbing awakening from his daydream. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Jean Kirschtein from Trost, sir!" Jean barked out. "I really like girls with long, straight black hair, sir!"

The ash-haired chibi spared Mikasa a glance, trying to look cool. Mikasa however, was less than apathetic of the chibis' obvious flirting. _"Zzz..."_

Jeans' bravado faltered in dismay before Shadis smacked his forehead into the ash-haired chibis', knocking him down and out on the ground. "Pay attention!" he bellowed before moving onto the next cadet.

Eren was beside himself with excitement, for it would be his turn next. He kept going over his words carefully in his head-_ My name is Eren Jaeger and I want to join the Survey Corps and devour the titans! My main hobby is being with my fathers' partners!_

Shadis walked to the next cadet, sweat-dropping as he saw Erens' far too eager expression, before moving onto the next group. Eren stared startled and dismayed as he exclaimed after the drill sergeant, "Wait a second sir! You went right past me!"

"... I can't think of anything more abusive to say towards you to cause you complete and total despair over your petty goals and hobbies," Shadis deadpanned, still sweat-dropping.

Eren stared, clearly upset and trying hard to hold back tears. He had practiced so hard to speak to the drill sergeant and he was just blowing him off?! Jean noticed Erens' plight and snickered. This didn't escape the chibi-brunet as he barked, "Hey, what're you laughing at?!"

"Hey, I can't help I'm honest," Jean sneered.

"Oh like you're in any position to gloat at me, especially with that melon on your head!" Eren retorted angrily.

_"Who the hell gave you permission to speak?!"_ Shadis yelled at the two chibis._ "Shits like the two of you'll be in the first line against the titans!"_ before talking away.

However, this line alone was enough to bring on fresh foreboding as the trainees stiffened in horror at the crackling of light and the massive shadow over them. Jean, Eren, and Armin cried out in horror as the chibi-Colossal titan appeared behind the barracks.

Shadis was oblivious to this though, as he scolded Sasha Blouse for eating a boiled potato while the other chibi cadets ran for cover. A second later, Eren, Armin and Jean fell through the chibi-Colossal titans' mouth and landed in the syrupy red, boiling hot liquid inside its' stomach.

"What the hell?!" Jean cried out as he gaped at the chibi-Colossal titans' jaws opening and closing randomly above them. "How the hell did we even get swallowed by a titan?!"

Erens' eyes brimmed with tears once again. "I can't believe I wasn't even able to make my debut to the Trainee Corps!"

"Oh stop whining!" Jean barked as they sank in the liquid. "It's your fault I wasn't able to run away in time!"

"What the hell're you pinning this on me for?!"

"Hey, how far're we going to sink?" Armin wondered as the rest of his words became gurgles.

_"Don't ask-"_

Suddenly, the chibi-Colossal titans flinched before its' torso was opened up as if on a hinge and the three chibis saw Mikasa riding on the back of Becquerel, yanked them onto the chibi-Absols' back and got back onto the ground, the chibi-Colossal titan crashed onto the dirt, its' eyes as xs.

Eren gaped at Mikasa before he noticed Bequerel and he tearfully hugged the Absol. "Oh Bec, you're the best!"

**"Sol, Asbsol,"** the chibi-Absol soothed while Mikasa silently seethed at Becquerel as he comforted the chibi-brunet.

"H-hey, what the hell is that Pokemon?!" Jean exclaimed as he took in the scene, before he felt a twinge of jealousy at the chibi-brunet and chibi-Pokemon, "and how the hell does he know him?!"

"That's an Absol," Armin explained as he shook off some of the liquid. "He used to be Erens' dads' partner and now, he's with Eren."

The ash-haired chibi bristled with jealousy and indignation at Eren for having such a Pokemon and even more so that he was commanding Mikasa's attention. He wasn't allowed long to dwell on that as a blur of green, red, white and tan shot passed him and Hange jumped onto the chibi-Colossal titans' face to caress its' cheek lovingly while Moblit struggled to heave himself up after his squad leader.

"You'll never set a tongue on food again for the next five days, now get running!" Shadis bellowed at Sasha before she tearfully saluted and went off running. At that, the drill sergeant seemed to notice the hullabaloo around him. _"What the hell happened here?!"_

"Ah, so lovely~" Hange crooned as they continued to snuggled against the chibi-colossal titans' cheek while it sweat-dropped.

* * *

_Day 4..._

* * *

The chibi trainees were all in the classroom, waiting for the teacher to show up.

"Open," Mikasa murmured as she walked in.

"Good morning, Mikasa," Armin greeted her before noticing, "Oh, did you cut your hair?"

"Yeah."

Jean flinched in shock as he examined Mikasa and was horrified to see that the long straight black hair he loved so much had been cut just a little above her shoulders. _No way- don't tell me she cut it off because of the comment I made yesterday?! Dammit, I really blew it..._

"It looks a lot better this way, I think," Eren remarked as he joined his friends.

Mikasas' face was dusted pink and this sure as hell didn't escape Jeans' eyes and he glowered at Eren, _Fucking bastard, acting all cool in front of her-!_

* * *

_"Clang Clang Clang Clang!"_ Shadis bellowed along with the bell rather strangely before barking at the chibi-trainees, "Today, we'll be deciding the groups for clean-up duty; there will be three in each group and must have at least one male or female in it! This may or may not have been influenced by the newest captain of the Survey Corps!"

Jean perked up at this and he grinned. This was the perfect chance to make amends with Mikasa and possible win her heart! He quickly marched over to the chibi ravenette and asked with confidence, "Hey do you wanna-"

Only to notice Eren and Armin in her group looking at him apologetically before Eren said, "Sorry Jean, but we're already in a group of three. Try asking someone else."

Jean flinched at that before glancing swiftly around, seeing Reiner, Bertolt and Annie in one group, Sasha, Connie and Marco in another, Daz, Krista and Ymir in yet another group (why Daz was sobbing when he had two girls on his team was beyond Jean) and Mina, Mylius and Nac in one more before it becamer abundantly clear to the ash-haired chibi could not go into another group without making it one of four.

"Oh, are you alone?" Armin asked sympathetically.

Just the one sentence was like a dagger in Jeans' pride as a man as the blond said to the others, "Hey, someone let Jean in their group, okay?", twisting the blade further in.

"I don't care," Jean gritted out before anyone could step up, his eyes watering. "I can't be bothered with some stupid cleaning."

With that, he walked over as cool as he could manage to the door and opened it up to leave. He took one last glance to see Eren talking with Mikasa.

_"GODDAMMITIT!"_ Jean wailed as he ran away.

* * *

Later that day, the chibi-trainees were eating with their Pokemon partners, as it was an exercise of forming the beginnings of the bonds between them. Miko looked sympathetically at her new partner as he lamented about showing his uncool side earlier.

"I showed my uncool side earlier," Jean lamented, holding up his head with his hands.

**"Vee-ve,"** the chibi-eevee soothed kindly as she gently nuzzled him from where she was on his lap.

Jean still wasn't used to her being with him in such a fashion or being partners with her at all, but having Miko with him right now was actually doing wonders for his self-loathing. Quickly glancing back and forth, Jean leaned over as discreetly as he could and hugged the little fox/ cat-like Pokemon, feeling soft fur against his face.

Meanwhile, Eren was rubbing his head where a bandage was, tears pricking his eyes as Becquerel, his chibi-Absol partner, was trying to comfort him. "I failed at training today too..." he lamented. "How am I supposed to exterminate the titans like this?!"

"You can't do anything about that right now," Armin said to him as Rillo kept munching on her bread on the blonds' lap, careful not to get any crumbs on him. "Just concentrate on eating for now."

**"Ab-Absol, Sol,"** Becquerel said kindly.

Erens' eyes looked like they were puddles of water as he tried to hold back tears and hugged the chibi-Absol tightly, wailing, "Bec- You really are the only one who cares for me."

Mikasa scowled openly at that, fuming at the chibi Absol while Tanya, her Snorunt partner gave a long, suffering and exasperated sigh. That was when the idea formed the ash-haired chibis' mind; Eren, Armin and Mikasa were obviously close, so it stood to reason that if he were to look cool in front of all three of them-!

"Yo Eren, want me to give some tips on using the 3D maneuvering gear?" Jean asked in his best big-brother voice possible as he leaned one elbow against their table.

"You'd do that?!" Eren exclaimed as he stood up eagerly. "Please show me right now!"

With that, Jean pushed aside an empty table to make room in the mess hall and a few other chibi cadets and their partners watched with vague interest. Jean readied himself and leaping into the air, his body twisting easily in the air as if he was being controlled by strings, or perhaps animated on some screen device not found in the walls before landing gracefully on his feet. "How was that?!"

The specters all stared at Jean with blank looks and sweat drops before Armin pointed out, "That had nothing to to with the 3D maneuvering gear whatsoever."

That sentence stabbed Jean like a dagger, his pride as a man plummetting like a stone. He then noticed Mikasa giving an annoyed sigh and the chibi-Snorunt in her arms was giggling. This twisted the dagger straight into his heart.

"Hey, were you trying to make fun of me earlier?" Eren asked suspiciously.

**"Sol sol, Absol,"** Becquerel said with a sigh.

"Oh..."

"Enough," Mikasa said as she got onto her feet. "Let's go, Eren."

With that, the three and their partners began to leave. Jean stared after them helplessly, reaching out to the ravenette as he cried out, "Wait please, Mikasa!"

He slumped over in utter defeat, his eyes hollow as tears gathered up in them._ Why did it end up like this? How could it have ended up like this? Even being eaten by a titan would have been better than this-_

No sooner had the thought finished in his mind did Jean hear a creak above him and the chibi-colossal titan lifted the roof off the mess hall. Jean, Mikasa and Eren all shouted in surprise while Miko, Becquerel, Tanya, Rillo and Armin stared in shock. A second later, Eren, Mikasa and Jean plummeted into the syrupy red liquid on the chibi-colossal titans' belly.

"Nice going Jean!" Eren snapped at the ash-haired chibi. "You just had to think that crap, didn't you?!"

"What the hell?! Don't pretend you read minds and pin this on me!" Jean protested, even though he knew Eren was in the ballpark- whatever that was.

_"Damn right it is!"_

"Eren, stop fighting," Mikasa reprimanded him as she sank lower, the red liquid up to her chin now.

"I'm not fighting!"

In anger, Jean grabbed Erens' shirt as he continued to sink, snapping, "Quit showing off in front of her! I'm not gonna die with you showing me up!"

"Let go, you'll rip my shirt-"

Suddenly, the chibi-Colossal titans flinched before its' torso was opened up as if on a hinge a blur of brown fur shot down to the three of them and Jean, Eren and Mikasa were quick attack'd up and out of the chibi-Colossal titans' stomach before Becquerel caught all three of them. The chibi-Colossal titan then crashed onto the dirt a second later, its' eyes as xs.

"Oh my God, we're alive!" Jean rasped before Miko gave a happy cry as she nestled herself into his arms. The ash-haired chibi stiffened for a moment before hugging her just a little.

Eren threw his arms around Becquerel unashamedly, tears in his eyes. "You really are the only one who cares for me!"

Mikasa seethed.

Just then, the door to the messhall opened up, Shadis' face like a demon. "What the hell is going on in here?"

There was an awkward silence, only pierced by Hanges' excited whoops as they began scaling the chibi-Colossal titan, Moblit trying desperately to keep up with his squad leader.

"Sasha ripped a giant fart, sir," Mikasa deadpanned.

"Her again?" the drill seargant grimaced. "That idiot needs to learn some self control."

* * *

Elsewhere in the girls' barracks, Sasha let out a giant sneeze.

* * *

So, this happened.


	7. Side story: Beast Training I

The 104 cadets stood in the Beast Trainers area as the roars and bellows of Pokemon and humans alike rang out in the space. Isabel Magnolia stood before them with Gretchen Sycamore and Rivalz Harley.

"Today, you will be spending your training with us!" Isabel announced. "As such, you'll be learning of the different kinds of Pokemon in this world and how to handle them properly."

This surprised many of the cadets. "But why?!" Connie blurted.

"As soldiers, it's important to be prepared to face any kind of enemy," the red-haired captain explained. "To do that, you have to have the knowledge on how to deal with them. Pokemon are not our enemies, that's the furthest thing from the truth, but they are dangerous and they are powerful. Saying that Pokemon aren't creatures built for the sake of battle would be an outright lie."

"They have greater power, stamina, faster and stronger bodies that can take or avoid far more damage, and can exploit their bodies and talents, far more than any human is capable of doing. Really, if it weren't for the fact that we have the knowledge on how to fight titans, then Pokemon would have no use for humans."

The cadets knew that Pokemon were their allies, but for them to be so far ahead of them in terms of power, and for the captain to readily acknowledge that, it was rather frightening to say the least.

"However, Pokemon can only access that kind of strength because of humans," Isabel said with a smile. "Wild Pokemon have raw power but little technique, while humans have the knowledge of their abilities but lack power. Together, we hone their power and they lend it to us in return, similar you all do in your own training to become soldiers."

"That's why, when human and Pokemon are together, they can accomplish so much more than when they were alone."

Eren stared in awe at her words, them being almost the exact ones as his father had told him when he was much younger. Hearing Isabel say such things was heartening to say the least and he smiled.

_Geez, what a cheesy speech,_ Jean thought, rolling his eyes before they met Miko's.

The little Eevee looked up at him with the same kind expression she always seemed to have ever since they met and the grey haired boy looked away. How was it that that tiny creature made him feel like a the biggest ass in all of humanity with a single look?!

"So then!" Isabel barked. "We will be heading to the center-most area!"

* * *

It was truly ironic; many who joined the military had somehow been given the impression that the Beast Trainer faction was easy and exciting to partake in.

Oh, how wrong they were. At least on the former account.

To even be in the same space was to put your life in danger, especially when one had no experience in dealing with Pokemon or if they were alone, as the cadets learned. Pokemon were unpredictable and strong. The attacks they used, their mood-swings, their appetites (they never ate humans though; apparently they didn't taste very good), and especially, their words.

The Pokemon around them were slowly growing more hostile and Beast Trainers and their partners were giving it all of their power to break them up. Flames and energy crackled about and smoke rose from some directions. Roars and yells of pain and surprise rang out. Many of the cadets were growing fearful as they beheld the power of the Pokemon inside.

Isabel and her squad kept careful watch over them all, to make sure that they weren't attacked or caught in a crossfire. As they delved in deeper, the cadets saw soldiers trying to handle the Pokemon around, some getting burned by a Houndour and Larvesta, others getting flung to the ground by an Excadrill and Diggersby, and even a few who skillfully latched themselves onto an angry Hariyama to give it medicine.

"Captain, are you sure this'll be okay?" Rivalz asked lowly. "I mean, none of us are slouches when it comes to fighting, but we're no Special Ops either. If they attack the cadets..."

"Don't worry," the red-haired officer replied as she pointed toward them. "They aren't alone, remember?"

Indeed, each cadet's Pokemon partner was alert and poised to defend their human partner at the blink of an eye. Eventually, they reached the center of the area, where a small spring lay that seemed to be bathed in light. Suloch Pryce was checking over the area, a Togetic hovering by her side. Many of the cadets were put off by her appearance, especially the lack of eyebrows.

"Where's that light coming from?" Sasha wondered, trying to find the source.

"The water's really clear," Nac remarked. "What is this?"

Isabel smiled as she began, "This is the Luminous Spring-"

_"That's _the_ Luminous Spring?!"_

Several of the cadets turned at Eren as he exclaimed this, his eyes wide with wonder and amazement. Gretchen raised a bushy black brow and Rivalz looked surprised as Isabel turned to him and said, "The way you got so excited just now- do you know what of a Luminous Spring is?"

"Yeah!" Eren said eagerly, his voice enthusiastic. "No one knows how, but when certain Pokemon come here, with some needed to fulfill certain criteria, then they can evolve!"

This brought on some gasps from the cadets as they stared at the area with more wonder; how could this particular area allow Pokemon to evolve? It was no secret that some Pokemon needed certain items to evolve, like stones, a specific time of day or night, or for them to know a certain attack but could they really evolve because of this area?

Isabel nodded. "That's right; I don't suppose you know what Pokemon can evolve here by themselves?"

"MachokeGolbatMegnetonKadabraChanseyHaunterEeveeGravelerPichuAzurillTogepiBudewBunearyNosepassChinglingRioluWoobatSwadloonBoldoreInkayPhanthupPumpkaboo-"

"Okay, okay, slow down there," Gretchen cut the brunet off with a laugh. "You're gonna suffocate yourself if you keep talking like that!"

"These Pokemon merely need to be brought to this spring in order to evolve," Isabel explained. "Others, however, require certain items and even a specific Pokemon to be present when they evolve."

The red-haired captain could immediately see the brunet's expression becoming eager all over again and she asked, "I don't suppose you know which Pokemon need items, now do you?"

But he wasn't dissuaded and Eren rattled off quickly, "Poliwhirl require a king's rock, Scyther and Onix need a metal coat, Electabuzz and Magmar need a electrizer and a magmarizer respectively, Dusclops require a reaper cloth, Karrablast and Shelmet need to be together in the same place, and Spritzee and Swirlix need a sachet and whipped dream respectively!" before stopping to catch his breath from the winded list.

Mikasa and Armin felt pride toward their friend flicker as the other cadets stared in awe at Eren's knowledge. Whenever Grisha had brought home books pertaining to Pokemon, Eren had begged him to read it to him or let him read himself. Grisha had been a doctor, so he required such books to help heal them along with humans. Clearly, Eren hadn't forgotten anything he learned.

Isabel nodded. "That's right again. Impressive."

"Er- thank you, ma'am!"

"No way..." Thomas said in awe.

"I can't believe he just rattled all that off!" Daz said softly.

"It was like it was nothing to him!" Hannah realized.

Suloch remained silent but looked at Eren with an unreadable expression.

Jean scowled openly when he noticed how the blond, ravenette and the red-haired soldier were looking towards the brunet. So Eren could name a few Pokemon that needed the weirdo spring to evolve, big deal; now everyone there knew who needed what to evolve, like Machockhold and Panphare needed whatnow and whozit.

"This is also important, as any Pokemon, if given leave, can come here with their partner and evolve properly once given permission," Isabel went on as her expression became more serious. "However, there are also some Pokemon who are banned from coming here under any circumstances. This isn't done out of spite or ill-will but for the safety of humans and Pokemon alike."

"When Pokemon evolve, they gain great power but their personality undergoes changes as well, similar to a human growing up themselves. These two can become an unpleasant combination and it has caused otherwise docile Pokemon to go out on rampages in the past."

Eren grimaced at that; he had heard of such things from his father, and it always saddened him. For something like that to happen to the creatures who were giving everything they had for humanity, was too cruel.

"Thankfully, we've made sure that the chances of such tragedies are minimized," Gretchen put in cheerfully. "Pokemon are our allies and friends, so it's natural to want to help them, no matter what!"

After that, the cadets were assigned to different parts of that particular area so that at least, they wouldn't die. However, the red-haired researcher kept Eren back.

"Jaeger, was it?" Isabel addressed the brunet. "I'd like to borrow you for a while."

Eren was surprised but he quickly answered, "Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

"What is she talking to him about?"

Mina couldn't look up from where she was trying to shield herself and Pearl from the volley of pin-like thorns raining down on them from a Beedrill while Luna either batted them away with her wings or blocked them with her limited psychic power. "You mean why Captain Magnolia pulled him aside?"

Mikasa nodded as she barely dodged a slash of air that fell the tree behind her. A few black strands of hair were clipped from her head. Tanya quickly blasted ice in the direction of the slash, bringing down the Yanma a few seconds later.

"She was probably asking him where he learned all of that stuff about Pokemon!" Thomas yelled over a Loudred's bellows as Juno blasted it with a beam of ice. "I mean, you heard him, right?! That was incredible!"

"Please, anyone could learn that!" Jean snapped before he dove into the grass to avoid a Pidgeotto's gusts and Miko knocked it back with a swift headbutt. "You just need the reference materi-AUGH!"

The ash-haired boy's gripping was cut off as the Pidgeotto let out a screech of annoyance before grabbing him by the gear and hauling Jean up, a horrified squawk coming from his mouth as he struggled to get free.

**"I'll save you, Jean!"** Miko cried as she latched onto his foot before they were high in the air.

"Hey, get back down here!" Rivalz barked as he got onto Luna's back and followed the three.

There was a few seconds of watching the two parties go out of sight over the tree tops before the trainees got back to work.

"Well, I think it's impressive Eren knows so much, especially if his learning of it was informal!" Reiner commented before easily sidestepping an irate Tyrouge before Jenn forced him backwards, accidentally rolling right into a tree and smashing it to the ground.

"Hey, watch it!" a soldier from a ways away barked from where she and a Audino were tending to a rather sick-looking Flaaffy, gently injecting the pink sheep-like creature with medicine.

"I wonder where he learned it, though!" Franz wondered before he was yanked up Clovis hanging from a tree to pull him out of the way of an irate Tangela.

"You know, chattering's nice and all," Kendall remarked as Hilbert stood by her partner's side holding back an irate Zangoose, "but I've seen more than a few soldiers get _vaporized_ for letting their guards down. There wasn't even anything left to bury, let alone burn."

This made the trainees become more alert and much more scared.

* * *

"Which faction do you plan on joining when you graduate?"

Eren blinked at the question when the two were away from the other cadets but promptly answered, "I'm joining the Survey Corps to exterminate the titans!"

Isabel nodded in acknowledgement, her expression thoughtful. "All right then."

The brunet bit his lip slightly before he asked curiously, "Ma'am, why do you ask?"

"You have quite a bit of knowledge of Pokemon, even if it's incomplete," Isabel explained. "Even seasoned soldiers in the Beast Trainers can't rattle off answers like you did today. That's why I thought you might be interested in pursuing a career here."

The brunet's eyes widened at this and a surprised gasp came from his lips. "Captain, I- well-"

"But I can see that you don't have any plan of deviating from your goals," she continued in an understanding stone, "I just wanted to give you some food for thought. There's more than one way to fighting than going on the battlefield directly."

"I know that!" Eren exclaimed, his fists clenching before his tone became more respectful, "I mean, I know that I have options, but-!"

At this, he held his head up high, his green eyes ablaze as he proclaimed, "But I made myself a promise when I watched the titans break through into Wall Maria; that I would exterminate them with my own hands and finally wipe them off the face off of the earth!"

His voice softened but his expression never lost it's intensity. "The reason I know so much about Pokemon is because I care about them! They've done so much for humanity for so long already, and I want them to be able to see the end of the titans too!"

Isabel was silent for a few moments, surprised by the amount and combination of fire, purpose, caring and wrath alike in those green orbs. To think that a child barely starting out as a cadet could hold such a look-!

A smile graced her lips. "Not bad."

"Er, ma'am?"

Then it was gone, Eren's expression confused now at the researcher's silence. Isabel gave a nod, a soft smile on her face. "Those were sound answers, Eren Jaeger. I look forward to seeing how your fight will turn out."

"Um, sorry about mouthing off like that," the brunet said, looking ashamed now.

"It's fine; I asked, you answered. You'll need that fire if you plan on seeing your goals through," the red-haired captain said before ruffling his hair.

* * *

"Put me down! Down, I say!" Jean shrieked as he clutched at the Pidgeotto as it flew about crookedly.

Miko had already crawled up her partner's body and onto the Pidgeotto's back and was tackling it hard. **"You put us down right now!" **she snapped, trying to make it go down.

But the Pidgeotto ignored them both, the human and Pokemon's efforts to get free only pissing it off further. Rival clutched onto Luna's back as he tried to get close to the three, but he couldn't see he could bring the Pidgeotto down without hurting any of them.

"Luna, try to put them to sleep," the blond suggested.

**Okay,** the Noctowl replied back and her eyes glowed with psychic energy as she created hypnotizing pink rays to the Pidgeotto. However, the Pokemon saw it was being followed and flapped it's wings strongly, creating sharp slices of air and throwing them at Luna and Rivalz.

"Shit!" Rivalz yelped as the attack hit them.

The slices of air drew blood as it sliced deep cuts into Rivalz's arms and cheek as he attempted to shield himself while it caused bruising for Luna. The Noctowl's eyes flashed with anger as she took in her partner's injuries and her eyes glowed blue as psychic energy surrounded the three.

"What the hell-?!" Jean began only for the Pidgeotto's eyes to close as the attack knocked it out and plummet like a stone a second later.

"Quick, go after them!" Rivalz cried out, prompting Luna to fly down after them.

However, they were too far away as Luna had attacked from a distance and the Pidgeotto was falling faster than the Noctowl could fly after them. Rivalz could only watch as Jean clutched onto the unconscious Pidgeotto while Miko struggled to hold onto the bird before her grip slipped. The ash-haired boy grabbed her by the scruff of her neck on instinct and held her tightly to his chest.

Suddenly, pale blue surrounded the three once more and brought them back down to earth. Alphonse the Togetic caught the four of them with his psychoc power and lowered them gently to the ground before Suloch came over to them.

"Thanks," Rivalz said to her as she helped the ash-haired cadet up.

As she turned to Jean and Miko, the teen shivered at her before she took out some bandages and a pale yellow salve. It felt cool and pleasant against the bruise and Suloch tied the bandages around his head snugly.

"The swelling should go down in a few days but other than that, you'll be good to go for quite some time," Rivalz told the teen as Suloch left. "You're really lucky that a bad bruise was the worst you received."

The ash-haired boy's scowl deepened at that and Miko looked at him with an apologetic expression that Jean tried to ignore. "Why didn't she tell me?" he wondered aloud.

"Suloch doesn't speak," Rivalz stated, his expression becoming solemn.

"I don't understand something," Armin remarked from where he looked from where he and Mikasa were helping Alexi hold down a Herdier so it could be injected with a clear medicine. "Why do the Pokemon have to be checked over so often? Do they really fight among themselves enough to warrant so much supervision?"

"Well, they do fight a lot, that's true; Pokemon are creatures of battle," Alexi answered before his expression became more solemn. "But they keep getting sick. Most of the time they just lose some of their power but they can die if they're not treated properly. Many of them tend to get really bad before cadets graduate."

Mikasa frowned at that before she asked, "Is someone purposefully hurting the Pokemon in here?"

"We really don't know," the Special Ops replied. "I've seen and heard of Pokemon who can be totally healthy one day and dead the next just because of natural causes, then Pokemon who start wasting away before we gotta retire and bring over to the breeding grounds. The alternate is putting them down but we've yet to be driven to do so."

"But sometimes, it really is our fault," Gretchen said with a frown. "Some of the Pokemon we raise have to be in specific enviorments or else they get really sick. We've tried replicating some of them but it's very difficult and most of them either die or are unable to fight, in which case they're sent to the breeding grounds all the same."

For Pokemon who were past their prime or crippled or unable to battle anymore, they were brought to the breeding grounds where they would be tasked with creating the next generation of military Pokemon. For them, it was all they could do.

"That's so sad..." Krista said with a sorrowful expression. "To have to live the rest of their lives in such a way..."

Ymir grimaced at that, upset at the blonde's mood change.

"Well, think of it like this; it's one of the few times a Pokemon can have a peaceful end to their lives and their partner can even set up living quarters with them," Rivalz pointed out. "In fact, that's how a lot of the soldiers joined; they defected to the Beast Trainers so they can be with their partners. Some of them used to be with the Garrison, Outpost Guard and Survey Corps, and even those who used to run with the Military Police."

"You mean those soldiers give up living in the interior just so they can be with their Pokemon?!" Jean exclaimed incredulously from where he was still being treated. "That's insane!"

"That's what most people say," Rivalz said as he wrapped up the deep cut on his arm, "but we've yet to see any of them actually care enough about that. It gives a lot of testament to how much they love their partners."

The ash-haired male stared with a disbelieving frown before shaking his head. He couldn't fathom it; how could they just give up the safety of the inner district just to be with a Pokemon?

* * *

"AUGH!"

Isabel and Eren both froze as the scream echoed not far from where they were. Immediately, the Pikachu and Absol were at their sides, their hackles raised. They raced towards the cry to see Connie, Sasha, Bertolt and Annie surrounded by a few Pokemon with rather sinister dispositions. Eren recognized all three to be ghost-types.

Connie and Sasha both clung to each other for dear life and Bertolt was trying unsuccessfully to keep Annie back while the blonde simply looked on impassively. However, even her expression cracked as a Gengar suddenly appeared in front of her, it's giant tongue sliding up her face, a sharp shudder of disgust rolling up her back before she fell on her side.

"Annie!" Bertolt cried, pulling her away from the Gengar, her form immobile save for the spasms that ran up her body.

Eren's eyes widened with worry but Isabel kept him back before she barked at the ghost Pokemon, "You've been told this before; don't terrorize the cadets!"

"Wh-who's terrified?!" Sasha nearly shrieked as a Misdreavus circled around her head, giving low cackles.

"YEAH?!" Connie nearly shrieked as well, his legs shaking badly while a Drifloon was trying to yank him upwards.

Bertolt said nothing, his lips drawn together in a freaked-out smile as a Doublade hovered by him eerily, it's tassel quivering by his face.

"Kaizen."

**Got it,** the Pikachu nodded before he let out a wave of electricity, missing the four cadets entirely, but driving the ghost types back.

They scowled as they got back up while Kaizen looked at them sternly. **"Go on. Or do you want more?"**

At that, the Gengar, Misdreavus, Drifloon and Doublade slunk away. Connie and Sasha visibly relaxed and Bertolt heaved a sigh of relief. Isabel quickly went over to them while taking out a small syringe from her waist pack and injected Annie with a yellow medicine, getting rid of the paralysis that had set in. Bertolt almost immediately tried to help her back on her feet. "A-are you-"

Annie merely pushed the taller boy away from her as she got back on her feet, her hand resting just for a moment on her cheek, her indifferent expression back. Isabel repressed an annoyed sigh as she watched the Ghost Pokemon disappear completely before addressing the four cadets, "Sorry about those four; some of the Pokemons' idea of fun is scaring new soldiers and cadets. Just ignore them and they'll leave you be."

Bertolt, Connie and Sasha nodded shakily while Annie looked away.

* * *

"Ngh-!"

Krista winced as she massaged the gaping cut on her hand. Ymir, Jenn and Reiner meanwhile held back the Farfetch'd, the two humans looking more than a bit pissed at the duck-like Pokemon.

"Here," Gretchen said as she took the blonde's hand and held it to the Simipour.

Mara breathed out, creating a small block of ice. Gretchen let it fall into her free hand before wrapping it up in some cloth and setting it on the cut. "It'll dull the pain before we can bandage it up properly."

"You little-!" Ymir scowled at the duck-like Pokemon before she raised her fist. "I'll-"

Rivalz swiftly caught her wrist before she brought it down. "Don't you dare ever even think of doing that," he said in a low and deadly voice, eyes colder than ice.

"But that thing-"

"I'm the one who startled him first!" Krista exclaimed. "If anyone's to blame for this, it's me! Don't hurt Marsh, please!"

The imploring expression on the blonde's face was enough for Ymir and Reiner both to back off, their expressions melting into those of almost rapture.

_I wanna marry her one day,_ Reiner silently decided.

Matthias scowl deepened as he watched the look on the blond's face and he shifted closer to _his Historia_, trying to shield her from Reiner's gaze.

"Doesn't anyone even listen to the opening lecture when they first come here?!" Rivalz gripped. "It clearly states that harming a military Pokemon is punishable by death, save for it being absolutely necessary."

Ymir and Reiner both blanched slightly at hearing how close they had come to death, and just for trying to pay that Farfetch'd back for Krista.

* * *

"Hey!"

Mikasa looked up to see Eren coming back over to them. With no small amount of relief, she and Armin went over to him, Armin asking, "What was that about earlier?"

"Captain Magnolia wanted to know what faction I was choosing," Eren explained. "She thought I wanted to join the Beast Trainers."

"I think you should," Mikasa said. "You'd be great for the Pokemon around here."

Eren frowned. "Are you still on about that? I told you, I'm joining the Survey Corps; there's no two ways about it!"

"Eren-"

"Mikasa, do you know that it's probably a lot more dangerous for a soldier to be in the Beast Trainers than the Survey Corps?" the brunet asked her.

The ravenette looked surprised at that but Eren continued. "The Survey Corps go out at least once a month nowadays for expeditions and spend a few weeks outside at the most now. But in the Beast Trainers, you'd have to be there every day and night to look after Pokemon who could easily kill you. Even then, the injuries that soldiers get would pile up one another until they either die or get crippled."

"you really thought this through," Armin remarked, surprised.

"Actually, Captain Magnolia told me about it when we were talking," Eren admitted.

* * *

So, this happened.

By the way, Isabel's haircut is like Azami Mido's from deadman wonderland, except about an inch or two shorter.


	8. Side Story: a friends' birthday

"Have you seen Squad Leader Levi?"

Petra Ral glanced up from where she was resting outside as Erd Jinn asked. It was a rather slow day, since said squad had the day off. She was spending this time trying to catch up on the book her father had given to her a few months prior when her blond comrade had asked her the question as the evening was beginning. Meanwhile, their respective partners were occupied with their own activities.

"No, why do you ask?" she asked, setting the book to the side while marking her page.

"I came up with something that might be helpful for the next expedition and I wanted him to go over it to see if it'll be useful," he replied, gesturing to the papers he was holding.

"I saw him going out from HQ earlier," Gunther Schultz said as he looked up from where he was polishing his boots.

This confused Petra; what could he be going outside of the HQ for? From what little she knew of him, Levi literally had nothing of interest outside of cleaning, expensive tea, Pokemon and killing titans.

"Oi, don't poke your noses into other peoples' business-" Oluo Bozzado tried to drawl from where he was drinking a cup of tea, only for his teeth to sink into the muscle of his tongue and draw blood.

Petra scowled at the grey-haired man as she reported, "Go bite your tongue somewhere else."

"Still, I don't think the corporal's ever left the HQ for anything," Erd remarked, looking thoughtful.

"Which begs the question, what could be so important to warrant his attention then?" Gunther wondered.

...

* * *

"This is a terrible idea," Petra whispered as the four soldiers filed outside into the brisk evening air, acting as discreet as possible.

Whose idea was to follow the squad leader was still up to debate but by this time, it was a little late for the four to back out.

"Hey!"

Their squad-leader looked up and they followed his gaze to see a woman with pixie-cut vivid red hair, a white flower adorned on the side of said hair and turquoise blue eyes run over to him. It was safe to say that Levis' expression of surprise matched the expression that his hand-picked squad wore, albeit not to the same degree.

"Who is that?" Oluo wondered as he examined the scene, stepping out of the character he was trying to emulate for a few moments. "I don't think Squad Leader Levi's ever talked about anyone outside of the Survey Corps."

That single sentence was enough to ignite the question in the four soldiers minds._  
_

"I didn't think the Captain would be into gingers," Erd commented. "She is pretty cute, though."

"Wha-?!" Petra held back a exclamation of disbelief before she hissed, "That can't be what's going on!"

"Our intrepid boss has snuck off away from HQ to meet with an adorable red-head," Gunther summarized. "There's not much else you can label that other than a secret date."

As he finished the sentence, Levi and the red-haired woman entered the pub and the squad quickly followed after them as discreetly as their group could manage. They took a table in the back so they could observe in secret while the two walked over to a table to the side where there were two drinks already placed.

"Why'd you let your hair out?" Levi asked, eyes averting to the ends where two pigtails used to be.

The red-haired woman blinked as she let her fingers comb through the ends as she replied, "I guess they didn't suit me any more. I don't think the cadets would take me seriously if I looked too childish."

Levi said nothing to that but the disappointment was clear.

"He's into pigtails?" Gunther said with an owlish blink.

"Rather childish tastes, huh," Erd muttered.

Petras' fingers gently traced the ends of her own honey blonde hair with a tiny frown. When she noticed Oluo looking at her, she scowled and hissed, "No way."

"I didn't say anything-"

"I'm not wearing my hair in pigtails then cutting it off," Petra clarified, knowing fully well that her irritating comrade was thinking of such a thing. "I know for a fact you were thinking of asking me that."

Oluo looked away at that, scowling slightly.

The two remained silent after Levis' comment on her hair, just drinking and reveling in their company. While others would find such silence unnerving, the two seemed perfectly content with it. Minutes passed by until an entire hour elapsed.

"Nothing's happened this entire time; they're just drinking," Oluo muttered, sounding rather disappointed.

"We should leave; it's wrong to be spying on the Captain like this," Petra said softly as she got out of her chair, only to meet the red-haired womans' gaze as she stretched backwards in her chair.

The blonde froze in place as turquoise blue looked back into blue-speckled hazel before they flitted over to the other three men. She said nothing but looked intrigued before the woman moved back into her seat and allowed her elbow to collide with her tankard, deliberately spilling the contents onto Levis' shirt. "Shi-!" the woman flustered. "Sorry about that..."

Levi wordlessly got up, set the drink upright and left for the back of the pub. When he disappeared from view, the woman jumped onto her feet and shot over to the squad while grabbing another chair, setting it up in front of them and sat at the table with a rather cheerful audacity.

"Gunter Schultz, Erd Jinn, Petra Ral and Oluo Bozzado, right?" the red-haired woman said with a friendly smile before offering them her hand. "Isabel Magnolia; I helped train some of your partners and it's really nice to meet you all!"

The four stared at the red-haired woman, Isabel apparently, in bewilderment before Gunter got out, "So you're part of the Beast Trainers."

"That I am; so, might I ask what you were following Levi around for?" Isabel said, her smile not dimming as she looked expectantly at them.

Petra fought back a frown as her face heated up with shame before Erd asked tactlessly, "Are you and Squad Leader Levi dating?"

_"Erd!"_

Isabel gave a chuckle. "Well, that explains a lot of your actions tonight then, but no. That would be incest if we were to do so."

"You two are brother and sister?!" Oluo asked in surprise.

"We're not related by blood, but we're close enough," Isabel said with a grin. "He's my big bro."

Petra couldn't help the relief in her chest, as well as feeling like a fool for thinking such things about Levi; he had never struck her as someone who'd be interested in romance. She noticed Isabels' eyes flickering over to her before going back to the group. "Lemme guess- you've got a lot of questions on your minds, right? Well then- fire away."

Isabel looked at them expectantly, the four soldiers feeling rather nervous at the pressure before Gunther asked, "How did the two of you end up soldiers?"

"How exactly do you two know one another?"

Isabel looked thoughtful before she replied, "Erwin Smith recruited the two of us, along with another friend of ours, from the Underground."

This made the four of them startle- they had heard rumors of Levi being a thug from the Underground City beneath Wall Sina and now they were being confirmed in the most casual way possible?!

"Originally, the three of us- me, Levi and our friend Farlan, were all in the Survey Corps at first," Isabel explained. "But after the expedition we went on, our priorities changed for us all. Levi would be the only one of us to remain in the Survey Corps, I decided to accept recruitment into the Beast Trainers to learn more about Pokemon and Farlan requested he be transferred to the Outpost Guard."

Oluo asked suddenly, "So, why were you two meeting up here?"

"We're celebrating Farlans' birthday," Isabel answered, a soft and saddened smile on her face now, her fingers gently fingering the ends of the white flowers' petals in her hair. "We'd always manage to get the money to go to a bar and just drink away the hours. It's been four years since..."

At that, the red-haired researcher trailed off, her upper face becoming shadowed and Petra felt shame flood through her; she knew such an expression, as it was on many of their comrades' faces, be they human and Pokemon, and here they had intruded on something like this, thinking it was a date-!

Isabel shook her head at their expressions, her smile more cheerful now. "Hey c'mon; you don't have to feel guilty, I needed a few laughs today. I really enjoyed meeting you all and next time we meet, we can hang out properly!"

Levi returned a few seconds later with nary any evidence a drink had been spilled on his shirt, becoming aware of Isabel moving to a table where his squad, to his knowledge, had just shown up. He didn't say a word as he surveyed the scene, though his squad shrank a little under his gaze, guilty for being caught.

"Oh hey, you know these guys?" Isabel chirped at him.

Gunther and Erd blinked, Olous' expression was confused and Petra didn't realize what was happening. _Huh?_

"They're my squad," Levi said simply.

"Seriously?!" Isabel exclaimed, eyes shinning. "That's so cool! I was just getting bored waiting for you so I came over here!"

That was when the four caught on to what Isabel was doing and kept their expression as neutral as possible while she talked with Levi animatedly. Petra was silently amazed at how easily they interacted, just like any pair of siblings would. She was so happy for them both.

"Oh hey, I think our stuff is in our spot, can you get 'em?" Isabel asked the ravenet.

Levi wordlessly departed and Petra stiffened when she realized that Isabel was watching as the blondes' gaze followed the Squad Leader. "Er- if you don't-"

"You know, I really wouldn't mind that kind of thing; I think I'd really like having you as a cute sister-in-law- God knows Nacht has his hands full with him," Isabel whispered and grinned unabashedly into Petras' ear.

The blonde woman blushed heavily at that and before Oluo could think of looking crestfallen, Isabel had side-stepped over to him and winked, saying, "As for you- tone down the copy-cat routine, and I'd be glad to make you my cute brother-in-law."

Oluos' mouth opened and closed, his face growing the same red as was on Petras' face. Erd and Gunther were trying their damnedest not to laugh aloud and were beginning to fail miserably as a few raspy cackles escaped through their lips. Levi meanwhile had come back with their items to watch the chaos his surrogate sister had caused with his squad.

"Do I even want to know," he deadpanned.

Isabel gave a laugh and grabbed the raven-haired mans' arm and twirled him around before dragging him off. "C'mon! Th' night's still young!"

"Tsk," Levi grimaced but allowed Isabel to drag him out of the pub in a burst of speed.

* * *

"Hey Kaizen."

The Pikachu looked up from where he had been resting as his partner walked over into his view. He gave a small smile and scampered over to her side and up onto her shoulder. "**How was your drinking?"**

"It was nice; I met Levis' squad, and they seemed pretty cool," she answered as she pulled off her boots and Kaizen got off her shoulder as she changed into her nightclothes.

**"Did you find what you were looking for?"** Kaizen murmured with a solemn expression.

"Not yet. Not yet."

The Pikachu was silent as he jumped up onto the mattress and curled next to his partner comfortingly. Isabel listlessly ran her hand down his back before she finally tucked the little creature into her arms and let her tears fall.

_"Farlan..."_

* * *

I can see Isabel being a Petra x Levi shipper for some reason :)

Also, Petras' hair was more blonde and her eyes were blue in the actual manga, while in the anime her hair was changed to ginger and her eyes to amber. Here, I'll be keeping it largely the same.


End file.
